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153,521 | 5260c872b994704e6dc82cf4895d74290a406472 | By . Neil Ashton . Follow @@neilashton_ . Carlo Ancelotti has told Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to forget about signing Sami Khedira. The German World Cup star has only just returned to training with Real Madrid after being given an extended holiday following his country’s success in Brazil. But Ancelotti has no intention of allowing Khedira, who started the Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid in May, to leave. VIDEO Scroll down for Arsene Wenger being very coy about Arsenal target Sami Khedira . Forget it! Sami Khedira is not for sale this summer, says Carlo Ancelotti . Back in business: Khedira training with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos . Glory: Khedira kissing the World Cup trophy following Germany's triumph in Brazil . The Real Madrid coach said: ‘He’s not leaving, he’s a Real Madrid player. He has a contract until June 30, 2015 and that’s all there is to say.' Khedira has been heavily linked with a £24million move to the Emirates but it is understood his £150,000 a week wages could move problematic for Arsenal. Khedira's fellow German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil - who swapped Real for Arsenal last summer - is the top earner on £140,000. The 27-year-old has also been linked with a reunion with his former manager Jose Mourinho at Chelsea after Real - who are preparing to face Sevilla in the European Super Cup on Tuesday - signed Toni Kroos for £24m earlier this summer. Unfollow: Khedira had been linked with making the same journey from Real Madrid to Arsenal as Mesut Ozil . Competition: Khedira is set for a fight for his place following the arrival of German team-mate Toni Kroos . Defiant: The Italian boss insists that his midfielder is staying at the club this summer . VIDEO Ancelotti aware of expectation . Extended rest: The German has just returned to the club following his World Cup success . Khedira has one year left on his contract at Real and reports have suggested that he has turned the club's latest contract offer. If Real fail to agree a new deal with him then they risk losing him on a free transfer next summer. | Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd can forget signing midfielder, says Ancelotti .
The midfielder has just returned from holiday after Germany World Cup win .
Khedira had been heavily linked with £24m move to Arsenal this summer .
Madrid signed Toni Kroos this summer placing Khedira's future in doubt . |
109,593 | 1946ced4265d1fa44446463977bb5aa7be97f534 | By . Daily Mail Reporters . Third suspect: Katherine M. Carpenter, 56, was arrested Saturday . A 56-year-old bank teller who reported finding the body of Aspen socialite Nancy Pfister in a cupboard has been arrested, less than two weeks after the victim's tenants were accused of her murder. Katherine M. Carpenter was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder on Saturday, several weeks after investigators searched her unit at the Christiana Lodge. Carpenter, who had helped manage Pfister's West Buttermilk home and walk her dog, reported finding Pfister's body on February 26. Police began monitoring Carpenter's home on March 2. Carpenter's arrest comes less than two weeks after William Francis Styler III, 65, and his wife, Nancy Christine Styler, 62, were hauled from their Colorado motel room and arrested for allegedly killing Pfister, their landlord, and shoving her in a closet. Just four days before her body was found, Pfister - who had briefly been engaged to Michael Douglas - had returned to Colorado after an extended trip to Australia. Her trip was reportedly cut short because she was having trouble with her tenants, the Stylers. 'I'd like to stay in Australia but the people that were supposedly taking care of my house are not doing what they said they would do and they're not paying rent and they haven't paid utilities,' Pfister, described as a philanthropist, wrote on Facebook on February 3 ahead of her return. On February 6, she posted another message on Facebook seeking a tenant for her home, and stating that Carpenter would assist potential tenants. 'Kathy carpenter from alpine Bank will show anyone interested the ropes, watering greenhouse, Gabe’s stuff,etc. Very easy to contact me via email, thanks in advance!!!' she wrote. Aspen Times reported Carpenter had close ties with Pfister. Carpenter helped take care of Pfister’s eight-month-old Labradoodle, Gabe, and was occasionally seen taking the dog to Aspen Animal Hospital. Pfister also asked friends on Facebook to give Carpenter 'a shout out' on her birthday on February 6. Scroll down for video . [caption . Old life: William Styler, a former physician, and his gardening expert wife Nancy look relaxed as they smile for a photo. The couple have now been accused of murdering a woman in Colorado . Carpenter worked as a bank teller at two Alpine Bank branches - the Aspen Business Center and East Hopkins Avenue. The bank recognized her 20-year service in November. Carpenter has not worked at the bank since reporteing Pfister’s death. According to public records, she kept a post office box in Woody Creek . and had lived in various towns throughout Colorado. She also filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in . 1999, according to federal court records. Two Alpine Bank customer told The Aspen Times that Carpenter was friendly. 'I would have bet the farm that she didn’t do it,' one of the customers said. Meanwhile, the Stylers are expected to be formally charged on Monday, while Carpenter is scheduled to make her first court appearance at 3pm Monday. 'All three inmates are being separated within the jail facility,' the Sheriff’s Office said. New life: The couple are accused of killing an Aspen socialite whose . home they were renting. Records have shown the couple have had money . struggles while William Styler has had health issues . Loss: Nancy Pfister, 57, was found dead last week - four days after she returned from a trip to Australia . Friends of the Stylers say they have been shocked at the arrests. 'They never demonstrated any kind of edge,' Dr. Joel Cooperman, a former neighbor, told the Denver Post. 'Neither of them displayed any kind of behavior that would indicate they would do anything like this.' 'I would laugh to think that that’s what they were involved in. They can't be,' Ned Ingham, a former neighbor, told CBS. 'I am totally floored. It would the last thing I’d ever think.' Dr . Styler, known as Trey, was an anesthesiologist and the chairman of St. Joseph Hospital's Department of Anesthesiology in the 1990s. The couple, who have a son, lived in . the Greenwood Village area until about eight years ago, when Styler was . hit by a chronic illness. He quit his medical practice and his license . expired in 2005. Afterwards, he turned his attentions to helping his wife in her full-time gardening career. She . founded the Victoria Conservancy and provided lilies to gardening . entities around the world, becoming known as a leading expert on the . variety of an 8-foot species called Victoria. They also welcomed school . children into the garden to look at the flowers and their pond. 'They would have people from all over the world over there,' neighbor Ned Ingham said. 'They were known famously for their flowers.' A . photographer, Povy Kendal Atchison, spent time photographing the . Stylers' gardens and the couple for business shots at the time 'things . were going south for them'. Arrest: Styler, a physician, was still in his bathrobe when he was arrested at his Colorado motel room . Caught: The couple were arrested five days after their alleged victim's body was found . She . told the Denver Post that they seemed like they were good people until . their money started running out. Court documents reveal the extent of . their troubles. In . 2003, Styler had taken his previous company, Colorado Anesthesia . Consultants, to court in a dispute over software Styler had co-created, . but he lost the case. He . accused his lawyer John Powell, whom he had paid $600,000, for . overcharging him for legal services - and in 2010, Styler sued Powell . for the debt, the Aspen Times reported. He . won and Powell was put on probation and ordered to pay $800,000. But . before the Stylers got the money, Powell filed for bankruptcy, . protecting him from having to pay the . debt. The report in the . Aspen Times says that the scandal led Styler to express suicidal . thoughts, including telling an attorney that he wanted to commit . 'suicide by cop'. In court: Nancy Styler is escorted by two deputies to Pitkin County Courthouse during her first appearance earlier this month . Locked up: Styler - who had been suffering various illnesses before his arrest, -and his wife are being held without bond . 'It was very devastating to him,' said Paul Gordon, a Denver attorney who represented Styler. Last summer, Powell complained to the state's Attorney . Regulation Counsel that Styler was observing his house - and Styler responded that he was trying to find out if Powell still lived there . As . recently as November last year, Styler had written to the . court’s Attorney Regulation Counsel about his frustrations in collecting . money - the same time he was renting the property from . Pfister. When she returned from Australia and . evicted the couple nearly two weeks ago, they had been staying at the . Aspenalt Lodge in Basalt, where rooms cost $119 per night. On Monday, William Styler was taken . from the motel still wearing his bathrobe, while his wife was seen with . tears streaming down her face. Missed: Pfister, pictured right with her daughter, wrote on Facebook that she was returning early from Australia as she was having trouble with tenants who were not paying the rent or bills . Heartbroken: Pfister's daughter Juliana said that had to be something more to her mother's death . They appeared in court on Tuesday - . William Styler in a wheelchair - where they were ordered to be held . without bond. They will next appear in court on March 17. Well-connected: Nancy Pfister was once briefly engaged to actor Michael Douglas . Nancy Pfister's remains were cremated on Monday and relatives and residents are holding a memorial service for her on March 15. Her murder - the first in Pitkin County, Colorado in more than a decade - has rocked the small ski resort town, where residents said Pfister had been a popular, well-connected resident. 'She'd been one of the golden girls of Aspen, seriously into the party scene [in her youth],' a source told Page Six. 'She hung out with the Kennedys, Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michael Douglas.' The source added that Pfister was even once briefly engaged to Douglas. Pfister's . daughter has said she refuses to accept her mother could have been . killed over a tenant dispute - and apparently further evidence that the . couple had money troubles. 'How . could someone just be so angry that they got kicked out of a house? There’s got to be something more. It's hard to understand that', her . daughter Juliana asked, ABC News reported. Her daughter Juliana added that her mother had been a beloved member of the community. 'I . have no idea how someone could do something like that and especially to . her and I think that, you know, my mom could never hurt anything or . hurt anyone and that is one thing that everyone that knew her knew,' Pfister said. 'She cared about a lot of people and helped the wrong . people this time.' Scene: Pfister was found dead in her home, pictured, which she had rented to the Stylers while she traveled . The Aspen Times reported . that Pfister was the daughter of Art and Betty Pfister, a prominent . local couple who played a major role in the development of the ski . resorts. Both preceded their daughter in death. The . Stylers, who are believed to have one adult son, were first questioned . by investigators the day after Pfister's body was found and on Monday . they were taken to the Pitkin County Jail. Public . records show that Mr Styler is a physician who graduated from the . Oklahoma State University College Of Osteopathic Medicine in 1979, but . his credentials expired in 2005. See below for video . ABC Entertainment News | ABC Business News . | Nancy Pfister, 57, was found dead in her home on February 26, just four days after she returned from an extended trip to Australia .
Pfister, who was briefly engaged to actor Michael Douglas, wrote on Facebook that she was returning because of problems with her tenants .
Katherine Carpenter, 56, was charged Saturday over her murder .
Carpenter, who worked at Alpine Bank, reported finding Pfister's body .
She had helped Pfister manage her property and looked after her dog .
It follows the recent arrest of William Francis Styler, 65, and .
his wife Nancy, 62, who had rented Pfister's property .
The couple had left their home in Denver after Styler quit his job because of an illness, causing the couple financial woes .
Court documents show they were battling a lawyer for $800,000 after he overcharged Styler during a previous court case . |
226,932 | b1dad318d5882ee7979add1911dfb46e25a1c26e | BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Seven members of an exiled Iranian opposition group have been killed in clashes with Iraqi police at a refugee camp over the past two days, authorities said Wednesday. A woman protests the takeover of Camp Ashraf by Iraqi forces in front of the White House on Wednesday. Security forces attempted to establish security control at Camp Ashraf in Iraq's Diyala province Tuesday and continued Wednesday to square off with members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran. The camp, which has housed Iranians since the mid-1980s, has been a refuge of the People's Mujahedeen. Regarded as a terrorist group by the United States and Iran, the group allied with Saddam Hussein in Iraq during the 1980s with the goal of toppling the Iranian regime. Since Hussein's overthrow in 2003, Iraq has established good relations with the Iranian government. Iran wants to see the camp shut down, and the Iraqi government has said it would close the facility after it got control of the camp from the United States this year. Residents in the camp are concerned about being forcibly turned over to Iran. People there said they would be willing to go back to Iran but only if there are assurances that its members won't be mistreated. An Interior Ministry official said that nearly 100 other People's Mujahedeen members and 45 police officers have been wounded. Maj. Ibrahim Abdullah, riot control commander in Diyala province, said that hundreds of People's Mujahedeen members fiercely resisted security forces as they tried to enter the camp, using stones, knives and sharp tools to fight them. Abdullah himself had been wounded and spoke from a hospital in Baqouba. People's Mujahedeen is the largest member of the National Council of Resistance to Iran, an umbrella group of Iranian opposition organizations. The secretariat of the council also confirmed seven deaths since Iraqi forces raided the camp Tuesday. It said Iraqi forces wielding machine guns "opened fire on the defenseless residents" of the camp Wednesday. It said Iraqis "demolished all facilities, bungalows and residences" at the camp's northern wing. The council said camp residents have been shouting "Allahu Akbar," which means "God is great." "For what reason were they killed?" the people chanted. On Tuesday, the council accused the Iraqi police officers of firing pepper gas and beating the refugees while demolishing the walls and fences around the camp. About 3,500 people live at Camp Ashraf, most of them members of the People's Mujahedeen for about 25 years after fleeing Iran. Also known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran was formed to oppose the shah of Iran but fell out of favor with the Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after 1979. People's Mujahedeen, an Islamist group that promotes a Marxist government for Iran, for years waged a violent campaign against the fundamentalist Islamic Tehran government, including bombings that killed politicians, judges and Cabinet members. | Security forces try to establish control at Camp Ashraf in Iraq's Diyala province .
Interior Ministry: 100 exiled Iranians, 45 police officers have been wounded .
Camp has housed exiled Iranian opposition members since mid-1980s .
Iran wants camp shut down; Iraqi government has said it would close facility . |
96,412 | 080b90b51917757c269cbda3bd6081a98f736caf | By . Emma Glanfield For Mailonline . Jay Miller, 21, (pictured outside Cardiff Crown Court yesterday), denies four counts of actual bodily harm and one of inflicting grievous bodily harm . A babysitter is accused of assaulting a toddler in his care, causing fractures to both of her arms and leaving her face and ears bruised. Jay Miller, 21, was arrested on suspicion of injuring the little girl after she was admitted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff with a spiral fracture to her upper right arm. Doctors said a fracture of that kind was usually the result of pulling and twisting an arm and further X-rays revealed the youngster also had two other untreated fractures on her lower arms, both of which were healing. Medics said those fractures could have occurred about 10 days earlier and said the girl's facial bruising could have been caused by slapping or grabbing by an adult hand. Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett told the jury: 'There is no dispute she had the injuries - the question is how were they caused. 'Were they caused accidentally or by an unlawful assault?' Miller, of Barry, Wales, denied four charges of causing actual bodily harm and one of inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday. The jury heard he had minded the young girl in the preceding days when her mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had to go to a hospital appointment. Mr Bennett said: 'He has trouble controlling his temper and when he is under stress, lashes out. 'He was probably having trouble with her - maybe she was crying too loud - one knows not - but he snapped.' He suggested Miller may have lost his temper because the child did not use her potty correctly or had made a mess with her food, and also alleged that at the hospital he was heard muttering: 'I'm sorry'. The child's grandmother told the court she had asked questions about the bruises, which appeared on the child's face and ears in the days before the spiral fracture. She told the court: 'He said he had taken her for a walk and she had fallen down a grass bank and hit a wall.' She said she saw Miller at the hospital as the child was being examined. The court heard how the young girl was found to have fractures to both of her lower arms, a spiral fracture to her upper arm and facial bruising when she was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff (pictured) 'He was sitting with his head down saying "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said. 'I didn't ask him why. Knowing there would be a police investigation, I didn't want to alert him to my concerns and him come up with an explanation.' The child's mother said Miller was concerned when he knew social services were involved. She told the court: 'He said, "They'll blame me - I'll be going to prison - that's what social services are like."' Asked about the bruises, Miller told police: 'I know I haven't hit her and never said "I'm sorry."' The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Jay Miller, 21, is accused of injuring the little girl while she was in his care .
She was found to have fractures to both her arms and bruising to her face .
Miller denied actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm at Cardiff court .
Girl's grandmother told court that Miller said: 'They'll blame me - I'll be going to prison' |
155,092 | 5470c1151ddd3f0b2f2a5c1f79b827aea6952975 | Augusta, Maine (CNN)When Bill Stokes visits a cafe near the state Capitol, he admires one man behind the counter. To him, Chuck Petrucelly represents a life saved. Stokes headed the Maine attorney general's criminal division when his office accepted Petrucelly's insanity plea in the 2008 killing of his brother. "I take some measure of satisfaction from the fact he's a young man who has a future," Stokes says. "We had an opportunity to save him. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice kicked in after a horrific tragedy. "There's no punishment I can give Chuck that's worse than the punishment he gives himself whenever he thinks about his brother." The former prosecutor and one-time Augusta mayor was recently appointed a Superior Court judge. He sees Petrucelly's recovery from multiple viewpoints. As a citizen, civic leader, head prosecutor and judge. Petrucelly is one of 90 mentally ill people in Maine designated as not criminally responsible -- known as NCR patients -- because they were determined to be insane at the time of the crimes. Nineteen had faced murder charges. The rest were charged with an array of offenses, including aggravated assault, arson, stalking and sexual misconduct. "As a prosecutor, you can't be so rigid you reject the idea that there really are people who are truly insane," Stokes says. "The people I'm worried about are not the forensics patients, because they're getting the best treatment you can imagine. The people I'm worried about are the people who are severely mentally ill not getting treatment. They're the next case that I don't want to see." Petrucelly was sent to the state psychiatric hospital with the goal of rehabilitation. He remained there for 4½ years and moved out of the hospital more than a year ago. Now 29, he lives alone in a supervised apartment in downtown Augusta. He tries not to dwell on the past. His brother was a year older; the two had been inseparable growing up. They played Nintendo, lifted weights and shared that indescribable bond of brotherhood. "There's just a connection I had with him that I just don't have with anybody else, and nothing can replace it," Petrucelly says. "Mike really was my best friend. That might be hard to believe with what happened. "The past is very hard to work through." The biggest aid in his recovery, he says, was the forgiveness of his six other siblings and his mother, who remains his greatest advocate. "You don't give up on one of your sons," says Rosanne Towle, his mother. "Losing Mike was devastating and still is. Part of me is broken. But Chuck is here and he still needs us. So our focus is on him." Focus on rehabilitation . Maine's NCR statute says that a defendant is not criminally responsible by reason of insanity "if, at the time of the criminal conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, the defendant lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the criminal conduct." Each defendant undergoes rigorous psychiatric assessment. About 5% of the state's cases result in a person being found not criminally responsible. "Once that decision is made, the focus shifts from punishment to rehabilitation, treatment and public safety," Stokes says. The length of a stay depends on how a patient responds to treatment. That can range from a couple of years to decades. Typically, the younger the patient is on arrival, officials say, the better likelihood of a quicker recovery. The program has been in place for more than 50 years, but was revamped after an NCR patient on a four-hour leave in 1985 killed a teenage girl. Stricter laws govern today's treatment program. That case also led to creation of the State Forensic Service, which conducts psychiatric and psychological evaluations for the court system. In the three decades since, state officials say, no NCR patient has committed a violent felony upon return to the community. "The history of the experience speaks volumes," says Mary Mayhew, commissioner of Maine's Department of Health and Human Services. "We don't have an experience of recidivism. ... We're focused on recovery and the evidence-based standards of care. It's slow. It's thorough. The assessments and progress are comprehensive and are consistently being evaluated." Patients who once refused treatment, who could hardly utter a coherent sentence, begin to surrender to therapy, start taking medication and over time become functional. The treatment plan is based on incremental freedoms and stringent rules. As they progress, they can petition the court to move into a group home after years of therapy, then to a supervised apartment. Eventually, they can seek full release, as happened recently with a mother who starved her 5-year-old daughter to death in 1993. Other states have similar programs, but the approach and aggressiveness of the releases vary. While Maine has shown success in rehabilitating its patients, other states haven't fared so well. Dr. Fuller Torrey, a research psychiatrist, best-selling author and founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, has been tracking patients who killed again upon their release into the community. "There is no shortage of them," he says. Once patients have undergone treatment, Torrey says, "it is imperative to then guarantee to the community, as well as to the person, that this individual will remain on medication indefinitely. And that's the issue." States have an incentive to move patients into the community and out of the hospital quickly, Torrey says, because the federal government picks up the cost when patients live in the community. And that, Torrey says, has resulted with patients being let go too soon and with drastic consequences. Ann LeBlanc, director of Maine's State Forensic Service, says authorities work extremely hard to make sure that doesn't happen. "What we know from years of research," she says, "if people make that transition too soon, they tend to have multiple offenses, dangerous behavior. So we go very slowly through that process." She often faces heated questions, even among friends and family, about why the state allows mentally ill patients, especially those who have killed, back into the community. She tells them: "That mental illness is treated and stable, and that they've had years to work hard and demonstrate that stability." "It's a slow, stepwise process," LeBlanc says. "We keep an eye out for the safety of the community, and the hospital makes proposals based on what the patient wants or needs. The judge decides." Since 2001, when Stokes took over the Maine attorney general's criminal division, 12 people have been deemed not criminally responsible in murder cases. Most killed a family member or somebody close to them. Five others who sought NCR status were rejected at trial and sentenced to prison. "There's always that concern that someone is gaming the system -- that someone is pretending to be insane when they're not in order to avoid criminal responsibility," Stokes says. "We're very conscious of that." Yet officials acknowledge there is no crystal ball, no way to predict how a patient will react upon release. The question they face most from an astonished public is: How do you know they won't kill again? "There are no guarantees," says LeBlanc, "and oftentimes I think the community is looking for a guarantee when we can't provide that about anybody. "What we can say is these people that are under the commissioner's custody get the best care; they get the care that they need; they get the supervision they need so they can have a life." Petrucelly has begun his new life, but there are hitches. Every time he seeks more freedom, he must appear before court. That results in a local headline like: "Central Maine man who fatally stabbed brother can move to apartment, judge says." He says local reporters never ask to speak with him, never seek his side of the story. His mom wishes they'd stop running his arraignment photograph in which he was 150 pounds, in psychosis and looks totally out of it. If they'd just ask to take a new photo, his mother would be happy. "It sets up people to be afraid of me," Petrucelly says. The cafe where he works has accepted him and remains supportive. Making Reuben sandwiches isn't his ultimate goal. With a hulking 220-pound frame, Petrucelly hopes to become a fitness instructor one day. He can bench-press 425 pounds. Residents have no reason to fear him, he says. "The people who have had treatment, like myself, are not the ones that they need to worry about. Myself specifically, I'm aware of my illness," he says. "I'm aware of the fact that I need to take meds to remain stable or I need to watch how I'm thinking and manage my thoughts." He's determined to make his late brother proud of his recovery. "Part of the reason I don't give up on myself," he says, "is I know that my brother wouldn't want that. I know he'd want me to honor his memory in whatever way I can. Every day that I live and get up, I don't take it for granted because I know he doesn't have that now." | Maine program aims to rehabilitate those deemed insane, not criminally responsible .
Chuck Petrucelly now lives in the community after killing his brother in 2008 .
"We had an opportunity to save him," ex-head prosecutor says .
Maine health commissioner: "We don't have an experience of recidivism" |
142,691 | 448b0912f87c08510a22a71f5fbc86059a314854 | By . Vanessa Allen and Emine Sinmaz . PUBLISHED: . 16:52 EST, 18 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:01 EST, 18 April 2013 . He had spent three months locked up with ‘murderers, drug dealers and rapists’ as a result of a bitter £400million divorce wrangle. So Scot Young, who claims to have lost more than a stone in weight while inside, was clearly keen to make up for lost time. The day after he left Pentonville Prison, cigarette in hand and Louis Vuitton designer bag slung over his shoulder, the former property tycoon was back on the society party circuit with girlfriend Noelle Reno. Scot Free: Young, the former business tycoon accused of hiding £400million by his wife Michelle Young, leaves Pentonville Prison (left). Young with Noelle Reno on Tuesday (right) Young, 51, who served three months of a six-month sentence for failing to reveal his financial secrets to his ex-wife, was sporting newly cropped hair – and the same battered leather jacket – as he attended an art exhibition in Soho with the 29-year-old model. A former fixer to the super-rich, he has been locked in a bitter legal battle with his ex-wife Michelle over her divorce settlement following their separation in 2006. Mrs Young, 48, a former model, insists her ex-husband is still worth up to £400million but has hidden his fortune to avoid his ‘obligations’ to her and their two children. He is adamant that he was left penniless by a disastrous Moscow property deal, but was jailed in January after a High Court judge ruled he had refused to reveal how £400million had apparently vanished overnight. Furious: Ex-wife Michelle Young who accuses him of pretending to have lost his fortune to avoid paying her the £48,000-a-month maintenance she is seeking . Mr Justice Moor jailed him for ‘flagrant and deliberate’ contempt of court. His release on Monday infuriated his ex-wife, who insisted he should have been kept in jail. Mrs Young told the Daily Mail: ‘He’s still in contempt of court. How can the justice system let him take one step out of prison without him disclosing the whereabouts of the £400million? He should have stayed in there until he purged his contempt. It’s outrageous that he’s out celebrating.’ She has accused her ex-husband of continuing to enjoy a lavish lifestyle while owing more than £1million in maintenance for her and their daughters Scarlet, 20, and Sasha, 18. Mrs Young’s lawyers allege a forensic accountant has found ‘significant evidence’ to show Young was not insolvent, as he has claimed. They are studying documents that reportedly claim he constructed a secret network of offshore companies to hold his assets. Mrs Young obtained a High Court order in 2007 which forbids him from selling or moving any disputed assets. She alleges that associates including the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, found hanged at his Ascot mansion last month, helped him to hide the money. Young has accused her of pursuing him in court out of spite, and described the decision to jail him as ‘ridiculous’. Speaking earlier this year, he said: ‘I can’t believe I’m locked up with murderers, drug dealers and rapists for 22 hours a day over a matrimonial matter.’ The couple married in 1995 and lived in a £14million Oxfordshire mansion. Young once bought her a Range Rover filled with couture dresses and gave her £1million in Graff diamond jewellery for her 40th birthday. Their legal battle will resume later this year, with Young facing possible further action for contempt if he fails to reveal details of his finances. | Scot Young was jailed for 'not revealing where his £400m went'
He is embroiled in legal battle with ex-wife Michelle young over maintenance .
Upon release he goes to art show with 29-year-old model girlfriend . |
241,592 | c4afae03e1850f484e8da58796eac858bc8d581a | (CNN) -- When Chris Wood turned professional in 2009, he came agonizingly close to winning a major title in his rookie season -- but it's been tough going since then. The English golfer finished tied for third at that year's British Open after missing out on victory at his final hole, having been fifth the previous season as the leading amateur. Now he has finally tasted success on the European Tour, landing a spectacular eagle on the last hole to claim the Qatar Masters on Saturday. He headed off veteran Sergio Garcia and South African George Coetzee by one stroke to earn the €310,917 ($418,000) first prize, thanks to a 202-yard six iron over the water that finished 10 feet from the hole. "There's an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders today. I feel like I can go on and win more," said Wood, whose only other professional win came at the OneAsia Tour-sanctioned Thailand Open last year. "I knew it was going to be hard no matter how I played -- winning on The European Tour is not easy. "I've been knocking on the door in previous times and it's not happened. To get it today, to get my first win, it's such an honor. I'm so pleased." The 25-year-old had led by three shots going into the final round, but then dropped two off the pace after the opening nine holes to bring back memories of losing tournaments in 2010 and 2011 on the last day. "I've seen a few mates picking up trophies and I've been waiting patiently for my time. I felt like I was due to win for a couple of years," said Wood, who will qualify for next month's WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona after moving from 142nd in the rankings to inside the top 64. He closed with three-under-par 69 to deny Coetzee his first European Tour success. The 26-year-old stormed home with a 65, firing an eagle and six birdies to record his 21st top-10 finish. He finished tied with Garcia on 17-under 271, with the Spaniard -- seeking his 11th European Tour win and first since 2011 -- closing on 66. "Chris hit a great drive and a great six iron and then a wonderful putt," said Garcia, who would have returned to the world's top 10 for the first time in more than three years if he had won. "Obviously he's been trying for a while and he deserves it, and after the start he had today, it's quite impressive for him to come back the way he did and win. I gave it my best effort." World No. 4 Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field and runner-up in Abu Dhabi last weekend, tied for 16th. Meanwhile, the third round of the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open was delayed by fog on Saturday. Only a handful of players made it out onto the course before play was suspended, with halfway leader Tiger Woods holding a two-shot advantage after 36 holes as he and most of the field waited for their new tee-off times. | English golfer Chris Wood wins Qatar Masters by one shot after spectacular finish .
He heads off Spanish veteran Sergio Garcia and South Africa's George Coetzee .
The 25-year-old qualifies for next month's WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona .
Garcia denied a return to top-10 rankings as he tied for second place with Coetzee . |
44,230 | 7cba1e2908b6fe4bf2d003530cb53f164413e51d | Lorna Smalley, 37, lost her memory after developing encephalitis - inflammation of the brain. She is pictured with her daughter, Jasmine, and her husband, Mark . A mother who lost her memory after being struck down by a life-threatening illness is able to care for her daughter again thanks to dozens of daily iPhone reminders. Lorna Smalley, 37, lost almost two years of her memory after being diagnosed with encephalitis - inflammation of the brain. Her memory loss was so severe that while she was in hospital for a month, she did not ask after her two-year-old daughter and even asked whether she was Chinese. But her miraculous recovery means she can now care for Jasmine again and has returned to work - with the help of iPhone reminders that make up for her occasionally unreliable short-term memory. Up to 10 reminders a day tell her to pack her daughter’s nursery bag, when she needs to go to work and when to do everything from the washing up to the laundry. They also remind her of every family birthday and even her own wedding anniversary. Mrs Smalley, from Nottingham, said: ‘Although I remembered my daughter once she came to visit me in hospital, before that I hadn’t questioned why she wasn’t there and that’s scary. ‘Now I’m over the moon that I’m back to being a mum and back to work - even if I need a few reminders here and there!’ Mrs Smalley’s terrifying descent to losing her memory started when she woke up feeling unwell one morning in January 2013 and was sent home from work sick. The next . day her husband Mark, 40, came home to check on her at lunch time but . within hours she was struggling to focus and was taken into hospital. Her . husband went home from the hospital to care for their daughter Jasmine, . now three, but just a few hours later he was called back to say goodbye . as his wife’s condition had rapidly deteriorated. When he . arrived, a nurse called the two most recently dialled numbers on his . phone to summon his friends for support as doctors were sure Mrs Smalley . would not make it through the night. Amazingly, she survived the night despite being in and out of intensive care and spending more than a week in two drug induced comas. Her husband was warned she could face severe permanent brain damage. Mrs . Smalley’s doctor believes she had an autoimmune encephalitis when her . body started producing anti-bodies which attacked her brain. Encephalitis can have many different causes including an infection and abnormal immune system reactions. Mrs Smalley was so ill that doctors warned her husband she might not survive . Miraculously, Mrs Smalley recovered but she was left with memory problems. She has now had to use family photographs to remind her of all the events she has forgotten . Medical . staff tried to help her body fight the disease with a plasma exchange . which had dramatic results and after two sessions she was able to sit up . and eat a sandwich. A . plasma exchange, also known as plasmapheresis, is a . procedure where a machine is used to separate plasma from the other . components of a patient’s blood. During . the procedure, the plasma is removed and replaced with a substitute and . the red cells, white cells and platelets are returned to the patient. Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition that causes inflammation of the brain. It usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and a headache. More serious symptoms can then develop. These include confusion, disorientation, seizures and changes in personality. There are several different types of encephalitis that have different causes. The most common are caused by infections or an autoimmune reaction. The illness requires urgent treatment - usually in an intensive care unit and about 10 per cent of cases are fatal. Some people make a full recovery but many experience permanent brain damage. This can cause complications such as memory loss, epilepsy, personality changes and fatigue. Source: NHS Choices . But when Mrs Smalley woke up there were significant gaps in her memory. She . had no idea why she was in hospital and for a week she had to be . constantly reminded that she’d had a miscarriage a month before. It . was only when her husband brought Jasmine to visit her just before she . returned home that Mrs Smalley realised she had not once asked after the . daughter she had given birth to and looked after for the previous two . years. She finally left hospital a month after being admitted and has been trying to remember the missing bits of the puzzle ever since. As well as her daily reminders, she wrote a diary when she left hospital to document everything she re-learned and to try and make sure she didn’t forget anything again. She had to look through photos of family holidays to try and fill in the gaps in her memory and has shocked herself by forgetting the way round Nottingham where she has lived for 18 years. Sadly, she has had to grieve twice for a friend who she had forgotten had died. When Mrs Smalley found a letter from her friend’s mother thanking her for a donation to a memorial fund, she found herself mourning for the second time. But psychometric tests have proved she’d retained all the necessary information to work as a practice pharmacist and is making a gradual return to her job. Mrs Smalley said: ‘It’s bizarre that I’ve remembered some things so well but I can’t for the life of me remember some holidays and certain events. ‘I’ve forgotten almost anyone new I’d met in the last two years as well basic things like where everything was in our house. 'I’ve spent months looking for a box of light bulbs that I put in a safe place and now can’t remember where I put them. Mrs Smalley now keeps a diary to ensure that she doesn't forget anything else . ‘I don’t remember anything about the . time I was sick. No matter how many times people tell me about it, it . still doesn’t sink in. I don’t know how it could happen so quickly. ‘I really thought of myself as very clued up on even the most obscure medical conditions but I’d never even heard of encephalitis. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever forget the word now!’ Mr Smalley, an accountant, said: ‘Lorna had always been a list maker but now it’s that with bells on! ‘We’re just trying to get back to life that’s as normal as possible with the almost constant alarms. ‘It was awful when she first went into hospital and she was hooked up to machines with tubes to help her breathe and eat. ‘She looked like she was barely alive - I didn’t know how that could be. ‘Because you don’t have a big list of all the things you know, once she came back from hospital she just gradually realised what she had forgotten and we had to piece her memory back together. ‘Lorna was in bits when she re-realised that her friend had died. But we had already grieved once. ‘When she came out of hospital it wasn’t the Lorna that went in, and it was really difficult because she didn’t remember much of what we had shared together, but thankfully that’s gradually come back and we’re a couple like we were.’ Dr Ava Easton, Chief Executive of the Encephalitis Society said: ‘There are around 6,000 new cases of encephalitis diagnosed in England each year alone and although there are many different outcomes, depending on how the individual was affected, memory loss can be severe.’ For more information about encephalitis visit the Encephalitis Society website. | Lorna Smalley, 37, suddenly started to feel unwell in January last year .
Within 48 hours she was rushed to hospital as her condition deteriorated .
She was diagnosed with encephalitis - inflammation of the brain .
Her husband, Mark, was warned that she might not survive the night .
Amazingly, she survived but when she woke up she had lost her memory .
She now gets by thanks to iPhone reminders telling her what to do . |
162,240 | 5dc265535d587bab1dece519dd0618ee1f11b598 | (CNN) -- Decisive, confident, disciplined, straight-forward and intelligent. These are just a few of the mostly glowing words the U.S. State Department apparently had for Margaret Thatcher in 1975, according to an alleged cable that WikiLeaks published Monday. Dated February 16, 1975, the cable attempts to explain this new rising star on Britain's political scene. At the time, Thatcher had just won control of the country's conservative party. She became prime minister in 1979 -- the only woman to hold the job. Thatcher died Monday at age 87. The cable is available along with a trove of others searchable on a massive database that WikiLeaks claims contains other U.S. documents. Several years ago, WikiLeaks became famous worldwide for publishing sensitive U.S. documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. CNN cannot authenticate material on the database or the Thatcher cable itself. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell would not comment on it Monday. As it appears in digital form on WikiLeaks' site, the cable says Thatcher "blazed into national prominence almost literally from out of nowhere" and that her ascent was remarkable because she then had "narrow range of prior experience." But Thatcher had captivated the public, the cable suggests, and was the "focus of intensive media and popular interest." "There is general agreement among friends and critics alike that she is an effective and forceful parliamentary performer," the cable reads. "She has a quick, if not profound, mind and works hard to master the most complicated brief. She fights her corner with skill and toughness, but can be flexible when pressed. "In dealing with the media or with subordinates, she tends to be crisp and a trifle patronizing. With colleagues, she is honest and straight-forward, if not excessively considerate of their vanities." Read the full cable . The cable goes on to remark that Thatcher abides by the "courage of her convictions, and once she has reached a decision to act, is unlikely to be deflected by any but the most persuasive arguments." She was, the cable adds, "the personification of a British middle class dream come true." "The daughter of a grocer, she had by dint her own abilities and application won through, securing scholarships to good schools, making a success of her chosen career, and marrying advantageously." The British leader had "conventional and somewhat forced charm, and above all her plummy voice stamp her as the quintessential suburban matron, and frighteningly English to boot." The cable predicts what the future holds for Thatcher. "If she is ever to become Britain's first woman prime minister, she must ... humanize her public image and broaden the base of her party's appeal," it says. "The odds are against her, but after her stunning organizational coup d'etat this past month, few are prepared to say she can't do it." CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report. | WikiLeaks: 1975 State Department cable captures political rise of Margaret Thatcher .
The alleged cable praises Thatcher, saying she had a quick and profound mind .
Thatcher became British Prime Minister in 1979; she died Monday at age 87 . |
62,608 | b1e9b73e16929251151f22f2f466ff834b8173b3 | By . Steven Donn . Follow @@esdonn . The Scots had come and gone in the pool on Saturday night without truly igniting the Tollcross crowd. That was about to change. With swimming gold having been won on each of the first two days, there was a sense of expectation as the men walked out for the final of the 100 metres breaststroke. This time, they would have to settle for less. Haul: Ross Murdoch adds 100m Breaststroke bronze to his medal haul . Podium: Murdoch stands with gold medallist Adam Peaty of England and the winner of silver Cameron van der Burgh from South Africa . This time, Ross Murdoch would have to settle for bronze. In truth, after turning in fifth position, Murdoch did well to make up the ground on Englishman Adam Peaty and Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh from South Africa. In the end, despite the deafening roars, it was just not to be Peaty set a Commonwealth Gamesrecord in finishing in 58.94 for gold, with van der Burgh taking silver in a time of 59.28. Murdoch touched the wall in 59.47, with team-mate Craig Benson fourth in 1:00.44. While Murdoch’s bronze couldn’t quite replicate the gold from opening night, it was still aremarkable effort. Yet, while some might have been stunned by the boy from Balfron’s emergence at these Games, it was no surprise that he was involved at the business end of the 100m. In the 200m final on Thursday, Murdoch’s performance against fellow Scot Michael Jamieson, thefavourite, was dominant. He has been producing such efforts in the shorter distance over the last 12 months. That he went faster than his illustrious team-mate has ever gone in 200m was almost lost in the aftermath, as the Olympic silver medallist’s performance was put under the microscope. In action: Murdoch competing in the Men's 100m Breaststroke Final . Jamieson bowed out of the 100m at the semi-final stage on Friday night, bringing an end to his Games. To his credit, he maintained that he would remain a ‘cheerleader’ for the rest of the squad. Last night, however, it was all about the lad who learned to swim in the unassuming environment of theVale of Leven pool in Alexandria. His swimming career had been almost over before it began, with Murdoch making for a rather over-excitable child and thought unsuited to the discipline demanded by the sport. Standing before the blocks, as he waited for the race to begin last night, it wasn’t difficult to imagine him as a hyperactive four-year-old. He was buzzing. Murdoch had qualified second fastest in qualifying, England’s Peaty looking dangerous with aleading time of 59.16. Van der Burgh, the world record holder, was always likely to contend, with the South African alongsidePeaty in lane three. Murdoch’s Scottish team-mate Benson — an Olympic semi-finalist in this event two years ago — was also determined to make an impression, having failed to qualify in either the 50m or 200m. Disappointed: Poster boy Michael Jamieson had to settle for silver in the 200m Final . It was a world-class field — and it would require an inspired performance to emerge victoriousfrom it. Peaty did just that. For Murdoch, he still has the 50m breaststroke to come, as well as an appearance in the 4x100m medley relay. You wouldn’t discount him adding to his tally. He was magnanimous afterwards, paying tribute to the Englishman for being the first Briton to break the 59-second barrier in the event. ‘That was an outstanding swim from Adam,’ admitted Murdoch. ‘I’m delighted for him.’ Elsewhere, there was to be home disappointment in the men’s 50m backstroke semi-finals, as all three Scots fell short — with Jack Ness (10th), Andrew McGovern (11th) and Rory Lamont (13th). | Murdoch takes bronze in Men's 100m Breaststroke Final .
Michael Jamieson bowed out in the Semi-finals on Friday night .
Murdoch had beaten Jamieson to gold in 200m on Thursday . |
231,097 | b737e3fb6b776881c9e02470f41892ea5ee5d94c | By . Mark Prigg . PUBLISHED: . 11:13 EST, 16 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:11 EST, 16 April 2013 . It is the biggest smartphone on sale, with a giant 6.3inch screen. Samsung's new Mega Galaxy handset look more like a tablet than a phone - and has already been slammed as 'just too big'. Samsung hopes the big design will appeal to commuters and others who regularly watch films on their gadgets. Samsung Mega Galaxy, which boasts a huge 6.3inch screen and is believed to be the largest smartphone on the market . Analysts have deemed a 'phablet' is a mobile gadget with a screen more than 5inches diagonally. The word comes from blending phone and tablet. Samsung's Galaxy Note was the first popular 'phablet', but others are expected to follow this year. Shipments of gadgets that are 5 inches or bigger in screen size will . surge by nearly nine-fold to 228 million during the same period, though . estimates vary because no one can agree on where smartphones stop and . phablets start. 'The newest addition to the Galaxy family balances an optimal viewing . experience on a 6.3-inch HD screen, yet is ultra-thin and portable . enough to put into a pocket or hold in one hand,' the firm said. 'The GALAXY Mega offers a mix of popular smartphone and tablet . features such as an effortless user experience, a split screen, . multitasking between video and other apps and more.' It claims video and web browsing will be the main uses for the Mega. 'We are aware of a great potential in the bigger screen for extensive . viewing multimedia, web browsing, and more,' said JK Shin of Samsung. 'We are excited to provide another choice to meet our consumers’ varying lifestyles, all while maintaining the high-quality features of . the award-winning GALAXY series.' However, experts are less impressed. Rik Henderson of Pocket Lint said 'The screen size of the Galaxy Note works as you take notes - but the Mega is just a massive phone, it's just too big. The rise of the giant phone: Samsung's Galaxy Mega 6.3 is now the biggest phone on the market, dwarfing the iPhone . 'However, I think we'll see an arms race to get to that size, there's a real blurring of the lines between phones and tablets now. 'But for consumers, I think its a fad - it's just too big.' Samsung helped popularise the so-called 'phablet' category - in which . phones approach tablet dimensions - with its original 5.3in Galaxy . Note, which was released in 2011. Analysts have deemed a 'phablet' is a mobile gadget with a screen more than 5inches diagonally. The word comes from blending phone and tablet. A phone too far? The Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone was the first 'phablet' but now an even bigger version has been launched . Samsung's Galaxy Note was the first popular 'phablet', but others are expected to follow this year. Experts have predicted that 2013 could be the year of the 'phablet'. Analysts claim the emergence of so-called 'giant mobile' which blend . tablets and mobile phones, will lead to a whole new category of gadgets. The upshot is a market for phablets that will quadruple in value to $135 . billion in three years, according to analysts at Barclays. Shipments of gadgets that are 5 inches or bigger in screen size will . surge by nearly nine-fold to 228 million during the same period, though . estimates vary because no one can agree on where smartphones stop and . phablets start. But that's the point, some say. 'I think phone size was a preconceived notion based on voice usage,' said John Berns, a Singapore-based executive who works in the . information technology industry. Experts warn the giant phone could be 'just a fad' for consumers, and claim it is simply too large to use as an everyday handset . | Believed to be among the biggest smartphones on sale .
Samsung hopes the big design will appeal to commuters and others who regularly watch films on their gadgets . |
182,680 | 78913ad1f79483141d0f82f1b0ebf57596d33bc3 | Mankind is on the brink of 'committing suicide on a grand scale' unless rapid progress is made on green issues, the Prince of Wales warned today. In very strong language, Prince Charles claimed the planet was doomed to an 'unimaginable future' if the problems of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, intensive farming using pesticides and the depletion of natural resources were not addressed. The Prince, often accused of using his position to influence public policy, is usually tempered when giving his views about the environment. Scroll down for video of his speech . Sweet smell of success: The prince sniffs a piece of chocolate used as feedstock to create gas at the Anaerobic Digester Plant in Dorchester . But in an apocalyptic warning of the toxic planet facing future generations, he claimed the world was heading towards a 'terrifying point of no return'. Letters: Prince Charles has often written to ministers and Whitehall departments . In a swipe at critics of his green views, he said he had once been written off as 'a crank', but now his fears for the environment have been backed by scientific evidence. His comments came in a pre-recorded video speech accepting a lifetime achievement award at the 7th International Green Awards at Battersea Power Station in London. He told the ceremony that fossil fuels and supplies of fresh water were under pressure while 'vast amounts of CO2' were still pumped into the atmosphere. The Prince said: 'Humanity and the Earth will soon begin to suffer some very grim consequence. 'It’s therefore an act of suicide on a grand scale to ride so roughshod over those checks and balances and flout nature’s necessary limits as blatantly as we do. “The longer we go on ignoring what is already happening and denying what will happen in the future, the more profoundly we condemn our grandchildren and their children to an unbearably toxic and unstable existence. We simply have to turn the tide.' Speaking of his early warnings of the environmental threats to the planet he said the lifetime achievement award was an acknowledgement for what he described as his 'rather inadequate efforts' to create change. He added: 'All those years ago when I began to . see that this could be so, I found myself labelled with every term that . describes a crank. “I . don’t actually recommend it as a pastime but, extraordinary as it may . seem, nowadays … that intuitive feeling has been backed up by a mass of . scientific evidence in every possible field confirming that our . predominant approach is having a very adverse effect on nature.' Over the years, the Prince has courted controversy because of his involvement in public affairs - writing to councils and government ministers with his views ranging from architecture to alternative medicine. The government has blocked the release of secret letters Prince of Wales wrote to ministers because they would 'seriously damage' his political neutrality and his role as future king. The letters were requested under the Freedom of Information Act, but yesterday the attorney general stopped the release saying they were 'particularly frank' and . would 'potentially have undermined his position of political neutrality' if published. He added . that any suggestion he was 'disagreeing with government policy' would . be 'seriously damaging to his role as future monarch'. The High Court had previously ruled that . two dozen ‘black spider’ letters – which Charles sent during . the last Labour government – should be revealed. A . judge said it was in the public interest to release the letters, which . were described in court as ‘advocacy correspondence’ through which the . Prince of Wales had sought to influence government policy. But yesterday the Government’s chief legal officer overturned the ruling. Last month the government blocked the release of secret letters Prince Charles wrote to ministers because they would 'seriously damage' his political neutrality and his role as future king. The letters were requested under the Freedom of Information Act, but the Attorney General Dominic Grieve stopped the release saying they were 'particularly frank' and would 'potentially have undermined his position of political neutrality' if published. The High Court had previously ruled that two dozen ‘black spider’ letters – which Charles sent during the last Labour government – should be revealed. A judge said it was in the public interest to release the letters, which were described in court as ‘advocacy correspondence’ through which the Prince of Wales had sought to influence government policy. In 2009, he was accused of meddling in government policy after it emerged he had written to eight Whitehall departments in three years. He sent personal letters to the Treasury, the Foreign Office and the Education Department – while his aides sent letters to other senior Cabinet members. Freedom of Information requests revealed advisers to the Prince pressed ministers to consider his views on matters including hospital building and the design of ecotowns . His most public intervention came in 2010 over a £3 billion scheme to redevelop the Chelsea Royal Barracks by the Qataris. The project was axed after the Prince lobbied the Prime Minister of Qatar claiming it was a 'gigantic experiment with the very soul of our city'. Dr Benny Peiser, director of Lord Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation, told the Independent that the Prince’s views were still out of step with mainstream thinking. | He claims world is heading towards 'terrifying point of no return'
Future generations facing 'unimaginable future' if we don't act .
Prince says he was written off as a crank over his green views . |
132,206 | 36fc92c9ccfbf89134e995f8f405eaba0a78df86 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 20:56 EST, 9 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:02 EST, 9 December 2013 . Expectations of continued rises in house prices hit a 14-year high in November, with almost two-thirds of surveyors predicting the value of homes will increase as demand outstrips supply. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said on Tuesday that 59 per cent of surveyors forecast prices would rise over the next three months, the highest reading since September 1999. A record level of surveyors also predicted sales will pick up in the coming months. However, Rics warned that without a 'meaningful increase' in the supply of homes, both house prices and rents will become more unaffordable. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said 59 per cent of surveyors forecast price rises over the next three months . It said the reading for the number of surveyors predicting price rises rather than falls is the highest since September 1999 and demonstrates the impact that the recovery is having on an 'anaemic supply' of properties for sale in the housing market. In what Rics said is a 'sharp' pick-up, a balance of 58 per cent more surveyors also reported already seeing house price growth last month. For the second month in a row, each region of the UK saw prices rise. House sales have also lifted strongly compared with a year ago. An average of just over 20 homes per surveyor were sold in the three months to November, compared with around 15 during the same period last year. The housing market has been showing strong signs of recovery throughout 2013 following a string of Government schemes such as Help to Buy and Funding for Lending which have widened mortgage availability and fuelled demand from buyers. A new phase of the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme was launched in October to give more people with low deposits a helping hand on to or up the housing ladder. The institution warned that without a 'meaningful increase' in the supply of homes then rents and prices would become more unaffordable . The scheme offers state-backed loans to . people with deposits as low as 5 per cent and lenders representing . around two-thirds of the mortgage market have confirmed they will take . part. But experts have said that stronger efforts must also be made to increase the number of homes on the market, with the mismatch between supply and demand putting an upward pressure on prices. Last week, Halifax reported that house prices rose by 7.7 per cent in November, marking the highest increase seen in six years. In his Autumn Statement last week, Chancellor George Osborne announced £1billion of loans to unblock large housing developments, including in Manchester and Leeds, and raising a borrowing limit for councils to fund new homes. Halifax reported that house prices rose by 7.7 per cent in November, marking the highest increase seen in six years . But housing charity Shelter called for 'bolder ideas' for more affordable homes to be built. Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said: 'It's no secret that the housing market is on the way up and prices are surging ahead in many parts of the country.' He continued: 'As the Chancellor pointed out last week, housebuilding is on the up, but it is rising nowhere near quickly enough to make up the shortfall that has built up in recent years. 'If there is not a meaningful increase in new homes, the likelihood is that prices, and for that matter rents, will continue to push upwards, making the cost of shelter ever more unaffordable.' The Funding for Lending scheme which has been credited with boosting mortgage availability generally is being re-directed away from households to help small businesses. The number of mortgages on the market has increased by around 40 per cent since Funding for Lending was launched last year. Mr Osborne also announced last week that non-UK residents will have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on property sales from April 2015. This is expected to take some of the heat out of the London housing market as strong house price growth in the English capital has been put down in part to overseas investors looking for a safe haven to place their cash. | 59 per cent of surveyors forecast price rises in the next three months .
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said without 'meaningful increase' in the supply, house prices and rents will become more unaffordable .
Halifax said house prices rose by 7.7 per cent in November - the highest increase for six years . |
88,102 | fa00ac27291b86a1b2d2724db8c34ae73b789b56 | (CNN) -- At a friend's sleepover more than a year ago, 14-year-old Phillip Swartley pocketed change from unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood to buy chips and soft drinks. The cops caught him. Former Luzerne county President Judge Mark Ciavarella pleaded guilty, faces prison and was disbarred. There was no need for an attorney, said Phillip's mother, Amy Swartley, who thought at most, the judge would slap her son with a fine or community service. But she was shocked to find her eighth-grader handcuffed and shackled in the courtroom and sentenced to a youth detention center. Then, he was shipped to a boarding school for troubled teens for nine months. "Yes, my son made a mistake, but I didn't think he was going to be taken away from me," said Swartley, a 41-year-old single mother raising two boys in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. CNN does not usually identify minors accused of crimes. But Swartley and others agreed to be named to bring public attention to the issue. As scandals from Wall Street to Washington roil the public trust, the justice system in Luzerne County, in the heart of Pennsylvania's struggling coal country, has also fallen prey to corruption. The county has been rocked by a kickback scandal involving two elected judges who essentially jailed kids for cash. Many of the children had appeared before judges without a lawyer. Watch the corruption scandal that is rocking Pennsylvania » . The nonprofit Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia said Phillip is one of at least 5,000 children over the past five years who appeared before former Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella. Ciavarella pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal criminal charges of fraud and other tax charges, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Former Luzerne County Senior Judge Michael Conahan also pleaded guilty to the same charges. The two secretly received more than $2.6 million, prosecutors said. The judges have been disbarred and have resigned from their elected positions. They agreed to serve 87 months in prison under their plea deals. Ciavarella and Conahan did not return calls, and their attorneys told CNN that they have no comment. Ciavarella, 58, along with Conahan, 56, corruptly and fraudulently "created the potential for an increased number of juvenile offenders to be sent to juvenile detention facilities," federal court documents alleged. Children would be placed in private detention centers, under contract with the court, to increase the head count. In exchange, the two judges would receive kickbacks. The Juvenile Law Center said it plans to file a class-action lawsuit this week representing what they say are victims of corruption. Juvenile Law Center attorneys cite a few examples of harsh penalties Judge Ciavarella meted out for relatively petty offenses: . Several other lawsuits on behalf of the juveniles who have appeared in Ciavarella's courtroom have emerged. The private juvenile detention centers, owned by Mid Atlantic Youth Services Corp., are still operating and are not a target of the federal investigation, according court documents. The company cooperated in the investigation, the documents said. A spokesman from the company denied that its current owner, Gregory Zappala, knew about the kickbacks. Ciavarella assured the community that he could provide justice. Elected to the bench in 1996, he once ran for judge on the promise that he would punish "people who break the law," according to local reports. The corruption began in 2002, when Conahan shut down the state juvenile detention center and used money from the Luzerne County budget to fund a multimillion-dollar lease for the private facilities. Despite some raised eyebrows from the community, county commissioners approved the deal. The federal government began investigating in 2006. "It's been a dark cloud hanging over the county for a very, very long time," said Luzerne County Commissioner Maryanne C. Petrilla, whose office approved the judges' budgets during the corruption. "I'm looking forward to the ship turning around now and us moving in the right direction." The kickback scandal highlights a major problem in the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County and across the country, attorneys say. They say hundreds of children who appeared before Ciavarella didn't have lawyers. "Kids think very much in the present, and they have limited abilities to understand long-term consequences," said Robin Dahlberg, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York who specializes in juvenile issues. Dahlberg's recent study in Ohio revealed that some of the counties had as many as 90 percent of children going through the court system without a lawyer. "This Pennsylvania case is a sad reminder of why kids need an attorney," she said. A 1967 Supreme Court ruling says children have a right to counsel. However, many states allow children and their parents to appear without an attorney by completing a waiver. Pennsylvania is among about half of the states in the country that allow waivers to be signed for juveniles to appear before a judge without an attorney, legal experts say. In Luzerne County, teens who waived counsel were at greater risk of being sent to placement center than those with representation. About 50 percent of the children who waived counsel before Ciavarella were sent to some kind of placement, the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center reports. In comparison, the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission in Pennsylvania found that 8.4 percent of juveniles across the state wind up in placement. "When you have this many kids waiving counsel, then that's way out of line," said Marsha Levick, an attorney at the Juvenile Law Center. "There was no record [Ciavarella] was assuring the child and parent about the consequences of not having representation." Minors charged with nonviolent crimes were often given harsher sentences than what probation officers recommended, court documents say. Other investigators say the trials lasted a few minutes at most. All four of the teens cited in this story say they appeared before Ciavarella without lawyers. "I was sort of shocked and taken aback," Hillary Transue, the MySpace offender who is now 17, said of her experience in Ciavarella's courtroom in April 2007. "I didn't really understand what was going on." The Juvenile Law Center says it first red-flagged Ciavarella in 1999 after discovering that a 13-year-old boy was detained without being read his rights and had appeared in court without a lawyer. When the case became public, Ciavarella promised the public that every minor in his courtroom would have a lawyer. Judges must verbally explain the consequences of appearing in court without counsel to minors and parents, lawyers say. Juvenile Law Center officials say Ciavarella neglected to do so in many cases. Yet in the past five years, attorneys, law enforcement officials and other judges did not report Ciavarella's behavior to the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania, says Joseph A. Massa Jr., chief counsel at the board. Privatizing detention facilities is a growing in popularity among governments because the companies say they offer lower rates than the state. Pennsylvania has the second highest number of private facilities after Florida, accounting for about 11 percent of the private facilities in the United States, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Critics say private prisons lack transparency because they don't go through the same inspections and audits as a state facility, and this may have allowed payoffs to go so long without being noticed. "Once somebody is going to make more money by holding more kids, there is a pretty good predictable profit motive," said criminal justice consultant Judith Greene, who heads a nonprofit group called Justice Strategies. "It's predictable that companies are going to tolerate certain behaviors they shouldn't." An audit draft obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer showed that Luzerne County was spending more than $1.2 million in expenses that weren't allowed under state regulations. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the agency overseeing the audits, says the audit drafts are not final. The audits also allege that two people paid the judges. Attorneys for former Mid-Atlantic owner Robert Powell say that their client is one of those people but that he was pressured by the judges to make payments. The attorneys say Powell never offered to pay the judges, never sought to influence any juvenile case and is now cooperating with the investigation. Zappala and Powell were partners until Zappala bought out Powell in 2008. Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim of Berks County is reviewing the cases for minors who appeared before Ciavarella. Court officials say some children may have their records expunged or be granted new hearings. The Philadelphia Bar Association has expressed outrage, assuring the public that the rest of the judges on the state's bench are "composed of highly qualified, honorable and honest people, who take their responsibilities to the public very seriously." But some of the children -- many who, like Phillip Swartley, are now young adults -- have become jaded and believe that their cases were tainted in Ciavarella's courtroom. After being sent to boarding school, Phillip, now 15, became withdrawn and depressed, his mother says. "What do these kids see of the legal system and of authority figures?" Amy Swartley asked. "These kids see people who abuse their power. Now, we have a whole county and generation of children who have lost trust in the system." | Two Pennsylvania judges plead guilty to federal fraud charges .
Judges received more than $2.6 million from youth detention centers .
Minors appeared before judge accepting cash from private prisons .
Hundreds of minors weren't represented, attorneys say . |
270,681 | ea9256f7896fbc8db2d3d60e8019b87574a8568c | By . Rachel Quigley and Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 07:25 EST, 21 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:58 EST, 21 October 2013 . The stepmother of one of the two girls accused of cyber-bullying a 12-year-old to suicide was ordered this weekend to stay away from her children after a video emerged of her joining in on two young boys fighting. Vivian Vosburg, 30, of Lakeland, FL., was arrested after a video of her punching two fighting children and screaming profanities allegedly emerged on Facebook, she has now been told to stay away. Ms Vosburg is the stepmother of 14-year-old cyber-bullying suspect Guadalupe Shaw. Shaw and Katelyn Roman, 12, have been accused by officials of cyber-bullying Rebecca Sedwick, 12, to the point she committed suicide by jumping from a tower at a concrete plant. Scroll down for video . Stay away: A Florida judge has told Vivian Vosburg she is not allowed contact with her children . Appearing this . weekend in front of a Polk County judge, Ms Vosburg was charged with two . counts of child abuse with bodily harm and four counts of child . neglect, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Friday afternoon news conference. Ms Vosburg, when shown the disturbing video, admitted she may have taken things too far that day, sheriff Judd said. Still in custody, her bail was set at $300,000, according to records. This is Ms Vosburg's second run-in with the law over assault charges. Records . show that in 2002 the troubled woman was charged with battery during a . routine traffic stop for a non-moving violation. Those charges were . dropped as a result of her victim not wanting to pursue charges, a . sheriff's office spokesperson told MailOnline. Mother of the year: Vivian Vosburg, mother of accused cyber-bullier Guadalupe Shaw, is brought in to the Polk County Jail Booking area after being arrested for punching two fighting juveniles . Accused: Katelyn Roman, 12, left, and Guadalupe Shaw, 14, right, were arrested and charged with aggravated stalking in connection with the death of Rebecca Sedwick . Booked: Ms Vosburg is currently sitting in Polk County Jail . 'The video was of two juvenile subjects fighting, an adult female punching the fighting juveniles and screaming profanities,' said a sheriff's office affidavit. There were 'several other juveniles shouting profanities and moving around in what appears to be a bedroom of a residence.' Six minors between the ages of nine and 14-years-old were also seen in the video, the affidavit said. Ms Vosburg has access to all of the children seen in the video, the affidavit continued. The children fighting in the video are two boys, but several other children are watching the fight. The video was posted to Facebook in July and was visible as recently as Friday morning, the affidavit noted. 'It is clear, not only has Vosburg demonstrated she cannot control the behavior of children she has access to without using violence, but she is obviously not monitoring the social media sites of children she has access to either,' said Sheriff Grady Judd. Ms Vosburg has claimed in media interviews that Ms Shaw is her daughter, but she is apparently the teen's stepmother. 'She says she is the mother, but we are finding out the relationship is different,' Polk County spokesperson Donna Wood told MailOnline. It is not clear where the troubled teens biological mother is, nor is it known how long Ms Vosburg has been with the girl's father. Ms Vosburg's daughter was arrested for cyber-stalking after allegedly posting a heartless Facebook post mocking the dead girl's suicide leap. 'Yes IK [I know] I bullied REBECCA nd [sic] she killed her self but IDGAF [I don't give a f***],' Ms Shaw allegedly posted . Rebecca was 'terrorized' by . as many as 15 girls who ganged up on her and picked on her for months . through online message boards and texts. She jumped to her death from a tower at an abandoned concrete plant on September 10. Judd said they decided to arrest Shaw after she posted the message on Saturday. 'We decided that we can't leave her out there. Who else is she going to torment, who else is she going to harass?' he said. Roman was Rebecca's former best friend, but Judd said the . 14-year-old turned her against Rebecca. Other girls also stopped . being friends with her in fear of being bullied, the sheriff said. Missed: Rebecca Sedwick took her own life after being relentlessly bullied . 'Several students corroborated stories of both girls bullying Sedwick on . different occasions, through name-calling, intimidation, threats to beat . her up, and at least one actual physical fight,' the sheriff said today. He warned parents in a news conference today: 'Watch what your children do online. Pay attention to what your kids are doing. Quit being their best friend and be their best parent.' Roman and Shaw were . arrested on Monday night and detained at the county's juvenile center . before being released to their parents, the Orlando Sentinel reports. They were charged with felony aggravated stalking. It is believed the bullying started when Shaw started dating Rebecca's ex-boyfriend. Witnesses told investigators she sent messages to Rebecca, calling her ugly, telling her to 'drink bleach and die', and encouraging her to kill herself. Sedwick's computer searches revealed she had searched for ways to commit suicide and asked questions like, 'What is overweight for a 13-year-old girl' . One of the Florida girl's screensavers also showed Rebecca with her head resting on a railroad track. She changed one of her online screen names to 'That Dead Girl.' She messaged a boy: 'I'm jumping.' Devastated: Rebecca Ann Sedwick, 12, pictured with her mother Tricia Norman, is believed to have jumped from an abandoned cement silo . Tragic loss: Rebecca with her sister Amy . Aftermath: Rebecca's sister Summer (left) and a friend sign a poster after her death. Two people have now been arrested in connection with the bullying . Polk County Sheriff Judd said Rebecca had been 'absolutely terrorized' by the other girls. 'We can see from what we've been investigating so far that Rebecca wasn't attacking back,' Judd said. 'She . appeared to be beat down. She appeared to have a defeatist attitude. And quite frankly, the entire investigation is exceptionally . disturbing.' Even when her mother took Rebecca out of school, the bullying was carried out online. The bullying started . over a boy last year at Crystal Lake Middle School and at one point she . was suspended for fighting with another student - believed to be Roman. Last December, . Rebecca was hospitalized for three days after cutting her wrists because . of what she said was bullying, according to the sheriff. 'When . she was being bullied at Crystal Lake Middle, she used to come home . every day and tell me how she wasn’t worth anything, that she was ugly, . how she was stupid,' her mother Tricia Norman said after her death. 'And . I said, ''Baby what on earth would make you think that? You’re the most . beautiful person I know and the smartest person I know.''' Bullied: Rebecca was withdrawn from her . elementary school after being bullied and was home schooled by her mother Tricia (right) who says her daughter's death should be a warning to all parents to be vigilant . Tributes: Flowers, candles and messages are left out in memory of 12-year-old Rebecca . Later, after Rebecca . complained that she had been pushed in the hallway and that another girl . wanted to fight her, Rebecca's mother began home-schooling her, Judd . said. This fall, Rebecca . started at a new school, Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, and loved it, . Judd said. But the bullying continued online. 'She put on a perfect, happy face. She never told me,' Tricia Norman told the Lakeland Ledger. 'I never had a clue. I mean, she told me last year when she was being bullied, but not this year, and I have no idea why.' Once . police checked her cell phone they discovered that the bullying had not . stopped, especially on Kik Messenger, Instagram and Ask.fm. 'They would tell her she's ugly, stupid, nobody liked her go kill herself," Ms Norman said. She has started a Facebook page to try to fight back against online bullies, called Rebecca Sedwick Against Bullying. Ms Norman told 10 News she was inspired to start it after reading her daughter's journal. In . it, Rebecca had written: 'Every day more and more kids kill themselves . because of bullying. How many lives have to be lost until people realize . words do matter?' Ms Norman . wants online bullies to face harsher consequences, and begged other . young victims to stay strong and seek help, adding: 'Don't ever give up, . like Becca did.' | Vivian Vosburg, 30, the stepmother of Guadalupe Shaw, 14, has been charged with child abuse and neglect .
Ms Vosburg was snagged by police after a video of her participating in a fight between several children wound up on Facebook .
Rebecca Ann Sedwick, 12, was bullied online by a gang of up to 15 school girls, including Ms Shaw .
She was found dead at an abandoned Florida cement factory last month after searching 'what is overweight for a 12-year-old'
For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ .
For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch or click here. |
198,014 | 8c500504a0ce039b0a81dbe0b27c468c74ce6bdb | (CNN) -- "I just get sick and tired, quite frankly, of all this talk. Everything that has to do with the federal branch of government ... is bad, and states are good. I remind you that ... the reason the federal government got into 90% of the business it got into is that the state[s] ... did not do the job." When Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware made this statement as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1981 at the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor, he was referring to statements by his colleagues suggesting that the judgment of state courts was entitled to greater legitimacy than those of federal courts. But Biden could well have delivered similar remarks at last week's NAACP Convention, where he spoke days after several Southern governors, led by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, announced that they will not participate in the health insurance exchanges or Medicaid expansion provisions of the health care law. No matter that 25% of Texans are uninsured, reportedly the highest rate among all states. Perry and the other governors want to burnish their anti-Barack Obama bona fides to an ever-hungry tea party base. These elected leaders are following a longstanding tradition in American politics of Southern states acting against the best interest of their residents. As Biden's 1981 remarks suggest, a good reason the federal government has expanded and occupied areas that might be best served by state government is precisely because of the lack of leadership that has too often been the hallmark of state governments. This has been particularly true in the South, where the idea of state sovereignty and racial injustice often went hand in hand. From the Civil War to the civil rights movement 100 years later, the call for "states' rights" long stood for the desire of Southern states to mistreat their black residents. That's why the invocation of this term -- as it was by Ronald Reagan, when he launched his 1980 presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi -- has become a kind of code that carries offensive racial implications. Resistance to the federal government -- in particular, the liberal decisions of Earl Warren's Supreme Court, President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and Congress' enactment of a series of civil rights laws targeted at discriminatory state conduct -- served as a rallying point for disaffected white Southerners. What is most distressing about the elaborate displays of failed leadership by Southern governors who rail against the reach of the federal government is their willingness to sacrifice the needs of their most vulnerable. The starkest historical example is the 1959 decision of Prince Edward County, a Virginia school district, to close schools for five years rather than comply with desegregation orders after Brown v. Board of Education, crippling the local education system and ensuring that a generation of black students would be unable to complete their K-12 education. The county's decision followed the lead of Virginia's powerful senator, Harry F. Byrd Sr., who authored the Southern Manifesto, which called for state-based "massive resistance" to school integration. To be fair, the phenomenon of bellicose or ineffective state leadership is not limited to the South or to Republicans. Only six states initially chose to opt in when Medicaid was first launched back in the 1960s. Those who chose to ignore Medicaid were merely delaying the inevitable. While governors postured, poor women and children fell through the cracks in the health care system. Ultimately, all states would join Medicaid. In 2009, while the country was coping with the effects of the Great Recession and unemployment was high, Republican governors from the South led the call to reject stimulus money for the extension of unemployment benefits. But a year later, it was two states in the Midwest -- Ohio and Wisconsin -- that decided to turn down hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for rail projects. Likewise, legislators in New Hampshire have forfeited millions of federal transportation dollars, not to mention tens of millions in saved medical costs, because they do not want to enact a primary mandatory seat belt law, making the state the only one in the country without such a requirement. Responsibility for failed policies on the state level, however, does not fall solely on the shoulders of elected state leaders. Voters must also act wisely to adopt the best policies, practices and laws for the common good. California was admonished by the U.S. Supreme Court last year and ordered to reduce the severe overcrowding in its prisons. But it was the decision of Californian voters to adopt ever more irrational and punitive criminal sentencing laws -- such as "three strikes you're out" -- that ballooned the state's prison population and resulted in the Supreme Court's intervention. This November, California voters have an opportunity to revise some of the ill-advised "three strikes" sentences. The ball is in their court. What is desperately needed now in state government is the principled leadership of elected leaders. The economy has brought about the most challenging state fiscal crisis in several generations. To provide for the needs of its residents -- whether it's in education, jobs, housing, public safety or health care -- states will have to cooperate with the business and the nonprofit community, but more importantly, with the federal government. Partisan posturing will benefit only candidates but hurt the common people. State government can be the most appropriate locus of government power in many important areas. Those who argue against the size and reach of the federal government should first demand that state leaders act responsibly and in the best interests of all their residents. Otherwise, it is the duty of the voters to speak up at the polls. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sherrilyn A. Ifill. | Some Southern governors said they will not participate in the health care law .
Sherrilyn Ifill: Lack of leadership has too often been the hallmark of state governments .
She says Southern leaders in particular have been resistant to the federal government .
Ifill: What is desperately needed in state government is principled leadership . |
187,961 | 7f67baf40dbf598d121118eee78242798db030e8 | New York (CNN) -- The wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a court date next week on a drunk driving charge, the latest in a string of events that began when Kennedy filed for divorce, according to records from Westchester County. Records from the Westchester County Clerk show that Kennedy filed for divorce from his wife, Mary Kennedy, on May 12. The next evening, according to police records, Bedford police responded to a 911 call. When police arrived at the Kennedy residence they found the couple in an argument over taking their four children to a carnival at St. Patrick's School. According to a "domestic incident" report filed by the officer on the scene, "Mr. Kennedy stated that his wife was intoxicated and was acting irrational so he took the children to the carnival to remove them from the situation." No one was injured, the report said. Two days later, Mary Kennedy was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Bedford Police Lt. Jeff Dickans told CNN that Mary was arrested around 9:15 p.m. on May 15. Dickans said that Bedford police officer Patricia McGraw saw Kennedy's 2004 Volvo swerving onto the curb of Greenwich Road in Bedford and asked her to pull over. Kennedy had slurred speech, and a blood-alcohol-content above 0.08 percent, the legal limit in New York. She was charged with driving while intoxicated. "The DUI is pending and we're hopeful that we'll be able to resolve it in the future," her lawyer, Kerry Lawrence, told CNN. She is due to appear in Town Court on July 22. Lawrence declined to comment on the divorce filing. Reached through his assistant, Mary Beth Postman, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also declined to comment on the divorce. | Mary Kennedy faces court date June 22 on DUI charge .
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed for divorce on May 12, records show .
In "domestic incident," Kennedy alleged his wife was drunk and he took children from the scene . |
55,137 | 9c2e4d2f6085ef9f237e6fe1baf83000a264cf93 | One in seven pregnant women in Ebola-hit West African countries could die in childbirth because hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to treat them, leading aid charities warned this morning. The rate of women dying while giving birth in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia is soaring due to inadequate medical facilities and a fear of contact with bodily fluids preventing people helping them. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that 800,000 women in those three countries alone over the coming 12 months - with aid charities warning that some 120,000 of them could face life-threatening complications if there are not dramatic improvements in emergency care. Scroll down for video . Outbreak: The world's worst Ebola epidemic, which emerged in March, has infected more than 13,000 people and killed almost 5,000 in the three worst-hit countries - Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia . Threat: One in seven pregnant women in Ebola-hit West African countries could die in childbirth because hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to treat them, leading aid charities have warned . Tens of thousands of women could die in childbirth in West Africa over the coming year due to medical facilities being overwhelmed by the Ebola crisis, according to the DEC group of 13 leading UK charities, including Save The Children and ActionAid. Korto Williams, head of ActionAid in Liberia, said many women were being left to give birth alone because stigma and a lack of information meant midwives feared catching Ebola and stayed away. Too many women have died because of lack of care, she said, adding video clips on the internet show women giving birth in the streets of Monrovia with no one helping. She said the 'horrendous prediction' of one in seven women dying in childbirth was a 'worst case scenario' but added: 'We have to do more to ... stop this coming true.' 'We have to ensure that pregnant women get the care they urgently need or we will see the rate of maternal deaths skyrocket,' Ms Williams added. Poverty: Tens of thousands of women could die in childbirth in West Africa over the coming year due to medical facilities being overwhelmed by the Ebola crisis. Pictured is the Clara Town slum in Monrovia, Libreville . Spread: Global health specialists have warned that with clinics overwhelmed with thousands of Ebola cases, West Africans with other diseases like malaria or tuberculosis are also likely to suffer . The world's worst Ebola epidemic, which emerged in Guinea in March, has infected more than 13,000 people and killed almost 5,000 in the three worst-hit countries. Global health specialists have warned that with clinics overwhelmed with thousands of Ebola cases, people with other diseases like malaria or tuberculosis, and those with conditions needing medical care, are likely to suffer. 'Ebola is having a huge impact on wider health issues like maternal healthcare,' said Save the Children's chief executive Justin Forsyth. 'No children have gone to school since March and pregnant mums are avoiding health clinics and hospitals,' he added. Not protected: A young child is pictured in the Ebola-ravaged Clara Town slum in the Liberian capital Monrovia . At risk: A young boy scavenges among rubbish in the Ebola-hit Clara Town slum in Monrovia, Liberia . In a joint statement released this morning, the 13 charities said speeding up the creation of more Ebola-focused treatment centres so that other health facilities can function normally would be essential to avoiding the feared rise in maternal deaths. The group also called for more protective and sanitation equipment to be provided, as well as treatment units specifically for health workers, to enable midwives to work safely and without unnecessary risks. There have been reports of a drop in the numbers of new Ebola cases in Liberia, but Médecins Sans Frontières is warning against complacency, saying the outbreak is far from over. New hotspots are emerging around the country all the time, said MSF and in Guinea, where there were two significant dips in cases, the numbers have risen again. The Spanish nurse who survived Ebola said she will demand £120,000 compensation from the government for putting down her dog Excalibur. Teresa Romero, 44, spent a month in isolation after becoming the first person outside Africa to contract the disease while she was caring for a missionary. But she said the worst part of her ordeal was leaning her mixed breed dog had been put down, claiming 'he was not given a chance'. Teresa Romero, 44, spent a month in isolation after becoming the first person outside Africa to contract Ebola . Lawyers for Mrs Romero say the decision to put the animal down last month as she battled the killer disease was 'improvised and taken against medical advice'. Health chiefs in Madrid obtained a court order to sacrifice Excalibur despite an online petition to save it signed by more than 300,000 people. Riot police clashed with protestors outside her home near Madrid so they could take the animal away to incinerate it. As well as demanding compensation for her dog through the courts, the nurse is also planning to sue Madrid health chief Javier Rodriguez for defamation. Spanish nurse is demanding £120,000 compensation from the government for putting down her dog Excalibur . While Teresa was battling to save her life he accused her of hiding information from the doctors who treated her before she was admitted to hospital. He also claimed she could have contracted the Ebola virus by not following protocol. Amid controversy over the training given to health professionals treating the two Spanish missionaries with the disease he claimed on TV: 'You don't need a Masters degree to explain to someone how to put on or take off a suit.' He went on to apologise after Teresa and her husband demanded his resignation. | Growing number of women dying in childbirth in Ebola-ravaged West Africa .
800,000 will give birth in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia over coming year .
Of these, some 120,000 could face potentially life-threatening complications .
Hospitals overwhelmed by Ebola patients and struggle to provide extra care .
Fear of bodily fluids is also preventing midwives helping women giving birth . |
232,914 | b98eee698b7fdaa7b783f0592552881359bbaf44 | (Health.com) -- Progress in the fight against obesity, heart disease, and several other public-health scourges all but ground to a halt in the past year, although as usual a person's chances of being in good health varied widely by location, according to the latest state-by-state rankings of the nation's health. As they have in the past, northeastern states dominated the top of the rankings, while states in the southeastern United States were clustered at the bottom. Vermont -- with its low rate of infectious disease, high use of early prenatal care, and relative lack of violent crime -- was deemed the healthiest state for the second year in a row, followed by New Hampshire, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. The picture was far less bright across the nation as a whole, however. Increases in obesity, diabetes, and the percentage of children living in poverty are eroding the nation's health, and the gloomy economic situation is likely only compounding these problems, say public health experts who contributed to the report, known as America's Health Rankings. Health.com: The 10 most depressing states in the U.S. "The economy, the despair that so many Americans are feeling, the anxieties, the tensions -- all of those things certainly could be leading people to make inappropriate behavioral choices," says Reed Tuckson, M.D., the chief of medical affairs for the Minneapolis-based health insurer UnitedHealth Group and a board member of the affiliated foundation that helped compile the rankings. For instance, Tuckson says, eating a healthy diet -- a challenge during the best of times -- requires even more thought and planning when families and individuals are on a tight budget. "In a world where there's a $1 cheeseburger available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, everywhere, many people may be making those choices too often," he says. Health.com: States that consume too much fast food . The United Health Foundation has been publishing the annual state-by-state rankings since 1990, in conjunction with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Partnership for Prevention, a coalition of government, business, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to health promotion. The report collects data on 23 health and socioeconomic measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, and several other federal agencies. The measures include straightforward yardsticks of disease -- such as rates of diabetes, obesity, poor mental health, and deaths due to cancer and heart disease -- with data on societal factors known to influence health, such as the percentage of the population with health insurance or a high school diploma. Between 1990 and 2000, the overall health of the nation according to these combined measures improved by an average of 1.6% each year. After 2000, however, the upward trend slowed to 0.5% annually -- and this year there was no improvement at all. Health.com: U.S. cities with the worst air pollution . "We really have had some stagnation in our health improvement over the last year," says Georges Benjamin, M.D., the executive director of the APHA, a professional organization for public health experts. "One year a trend doesn't make, but it's something to think about." The current report is based on figures from about a year ago, so it likely captures the early part of the economic downturn, Benjamin adds. At the other end of the scale from Vermont, Mississippi was again the unhealthiest state in the nation -- a spot it has held for the past decade, thanks in part to high rates of obesity, childhood poverty, and preventable hospitalizations. Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana rounded out the five least-healthy states. Health.com: The 50 fattiest foods in the states . The percentage of Americans who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%. If these trends continue, Tuckson says, one in five adults will have diabetes by 2050. Childhood poverty also is on the rise. Roughly 22% of U.S. children now live in poverty (which the Census Bureau defines as a four-person, two-child family making less than $22,113 a year), up from 16% a decade ago. And although children are more likely to have insurance coverage today than in the past, the opposite is true among adults, according to the report. There are some glimmers of good news, however: The percentage of American adults who smoke fell from 17.9% percent to 17.3% percent, for instance, and the number of preventable hospitalizations dropped from 82.5 to 68.2 per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. Health.com: The 10 states most addicted to smoking . Efforts to improve health in this country must focus on prevention, and should be tailored to individual states and communities, Benjamin says. "Physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco: If we could get people focused on those three, we could take a huge bite out of the chronic disease epidemic," he says. "This is not an infinite list of things that people have to address." Copyright Health Magazine 2011 . | As they have in the past, northeastern states dominated the top of the rankings .
Vermont has low rate of infectious disease, high use of prenatal care and lack of violent crime .
Mississippi was again the unhealthiest state in the nation, a spot it's held for a decade . |
248,770 | cde437e3b3e865a1e077b0b0f8ee01c95366ec40 | By . James Chapman . PUBLISHED: . 19:51 EST, 30 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:51 EST, 30 January 2013 . Challenges: Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith . Giving more benefits to poor families will not address child poverty because too many irresponsible parents will spend it on alcohol or drugs, Iain Duncan Smith has warned. The Work and Pensions Secretary said parental addiction – not family income – had emerged as the main factor in determining a child’s life chances. He insisted that the last government’s strategy of spending more than £170billion in additional welfare payments had failed comprehensively. Mr Duncan Smith said giving the family ‘an extra pound in benefits’ can even push them further into difficulty if the cash is used to fuel a parent’s dependency on alcohol or drugs. In a speech today, he will suggest broader ways of calculating child poverty – including whether or not parents are in work, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt, gambling and poor health. The Government is also planning new back-to-work programmes tailored specifically for benefit claimants with alcohol and drug problems. In remarks ahead of the speech, the Work and Pensions Secretary said Labour had ‘spent an unprecedented amount of money in their pursuit of child poverty targets, with some £170billion paid out in tax credits alone’ – but still missed their aim of halving child poverty. ‘Good intentions failed to translate into effective policies because the root causes of poverty cannot be solved by simply giving people a few more pounds in their pocket each week,’ he said. ‘Money matters, of course, and must remain central to our understanding of what it means to be in poverty. But there is now a broad agreement that simply calculating whether people sit above or below the relative income line does not do enough to reflect the reality of their lives. ‘How we measure poverty needs to expose the real challenges we face – however ugly and uncomfortable.’ Labour enshrined its measure of poverty – 60 per cent of median earnings – in law, and used tax credits to try to push families just over the line. It set a target to reduce the number of children living in relative income poverty to 1.7million by 2010/11, but only got the figure down to 2.3million. Labour fail: Mr Duncan Smith, pictured on Sunday, said that the previous government's welfare benefits strategy has done more harm than good to claimants . In the Coalition’s first year there was a reduction of 300,000. Ministers admit this was not because incomes rose for the poorest, but was largely due to a significant drop in the median income, demonstrating the absurdity of the current measure. Claimants of means-tested state benefits should be paid through cards that stop them spending on gambling or alcohol, a Left-leaning think-tank said yesterday. Pre-paid cards would increase equality by giving claimants a similar ability to use shops as people with chip-and-pin bank cards, the Demos report said. They would encourage responsible money management, and reward saving. Families on benefits could put a weekly cap on their spending or hold back a set figure from their money to pay rent. They could also have cards that would not work in betting shops or on gambling websites, or let them buy drink. Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke has tabled a ten minute rule bill that would stop benefit cash being used to buy cigarettes, alcohol, subscription TV or for gambling. ‘It is trying to help the poorest in society be able to manage their money better,’ he told Radio 4’s Today programme. The Coalition has agreed to tear up Labour’s definition, insisting that basing it purely on a crude measure of family income is perverse, when other factors can be just as critical in determining children’s life chances. Mr Duncan Smith said government polling showed people think having a parent addicted to drugs or alcohol is the most important factor for a child growing up in poverty. He added: ‘I’m by no means saying that every child in poverty will have drug or alcohol addicted parents. But we know the havoc that living with addiction can cause.’ Mr Duncan Smith said Labour’s approach was a ‘vicious trap’ and had left ‘disturbing number’ of people trapped in poverty. ‘There are around 100,000 people claiming sickness benefits whose illness is primarily down to their drug or alcohol addiction,’ he said. ‘Of these, 23,000 have been claiming incapacity benefits for a decade or more. Instead of propping people up on benefits, we need to tackle the root cause of their hardship – the drug addiction itself.’ One pilot scheme for addicted claimants will offer a financial incentive to support addicts who are in rehab, using work as a ‘stepping stone to recovery’. The second will bring in specialists to help others back to work. Labour MPs accuse the Government of changing the goalposts to mask the impact of its austerity policies. And Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: ‘Children are much more likely to be in poverty today because they have a parent who is a security guard, care worker or cleaner than a drug addict or “feckless”. ‘It’s right that the Government focuses on the damage that parental addiction can do to children, but a mistake to mix that up with poverty.’ | Parental addiction, not income, is main reason for child poverty .
Even 'an extra pound' could push families further into difficulties if money is spent on drugs and alcohol, Iain Duncan Smith warns . |
59,800 | a9db3bc857c799cf580ebf169dbd8428652c3362 | By . Joel Christie . Nearly one year after they were both seriously injured in the Boston Marathon attack, Rebekah Gregory and Pete DiMartino were married on Friday, following many tough months of recovery. The couple said 'I do' on a 19th-century estate in North Carolina, with the bride slowly walking down the aisle using a special crutch for her left leg, which may soon be amputated due to the severity of her wounds. She was guided by her father, Tim, and son Noah, six, down a bed of pink-and yellow-hued rose petals to her awaiting groom, NBC News reported. Sniffles were heard throughout the short ceremony, though the crowd laughed when the officiant asked Rebekah if she would take DiMartino as her husband: "Absolutely!" she replied. Scroll down for video . Rebekah Gregory and Pete DiMartino both suffered serious leg injuries in the Boston Bombing attack, but after becoming engaged after the incident, they are now officially husband and wife . The couple were at Boston’s iconic road race as spectators, waiting to see DiMartino’s mother cross the finish line, when two bombs blasted through the crowd on April 15. Though they’d only known each other about a year, the attack made them realize how short life can be, Rebekah says, and DiMartino, 29, proposed in October. 'We really appreciate each other so much more. I’ve fallen deeper in love with Pete every single day,' Rebekah (now Mrs. DiMartino), 26, told NBC News. The couple’s big day was in many ways organized by everyday Americans voting via wedding planning website, TheKnot.com, who awarded them the dream wedding free of charge. The catch was that readers of the site selected Rebekah’s dress (Sophia Moncelli), the location (Biltmore Estate) and their rings. On the morning of the Boston Marathon, Rebekah Gregory, her son Noah, and boyfriend Peter Dimartino were waiting for Dimartino's mom to cross the finish line when the blasts happened . Nearly one year after they were seriously injured in the Boston Marathon attack, Rebekah Gregory and Pete DiMartino wed on Friday on a 19th-century estate in North Carolina . While DiMartino is from Rochester, New York, and Gregory is from Richmond, Texas, North Carolina was chosen as the location because it was the couple's favorite vacation spot. The wedding photos were taken by Allan Zepeda. During the Boston bombing, Rebekah's son was with the couple. When the blast detonated - killing three people and wounding 275 others - Rebekah's body acted as a shield to her son. Noah . suffered injuries to his lungs and scrapes and bruises, but DiMartino . and Gregory both required multiple surgeries and both continue to . undergo rehabilitation. Joy: Boston bombing survivors Rebekah Gregory and Pete DiMartino show off her engagement ring after he proposed in October. The couple won their dream wedding from website The Knot . Joy: Rebekah said she screamed 'yes!' before Pete could even ask her to marry him last October . Strong: The couple, who both suffered serious leg injuries in the April blast, are pictured together before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in May . On the mend: Rebekah was only able to stand on her own two . feet just before Christmas following the April attack . Rebekah underwent a staggering 14 surgeries following the blast and told The Knot that her leg still might need to be amputated. As well as a ruptured eardrum, DiMartino lost 90 per cent of his right Achilles' tendon and suffered broken bones in his ankles and it has taken him months of physical therapy to learn to walk again. But the couple has leaned on each other for support during their recoveries. One day in October, Rebekah told Pete she needed him. He jumped in his car, with a custom-made ring in his pocket. 'I was having a rough day and I called Pete and told him, "I just need you here right now",' she told The Knot. 'I was in complete shock when I saw Pete. He got down on one knee and before he could even ask, I said, "yes!"' Happy: They had been dating for a year before their engagement and said the tragedy brought them closer . Hurt: The couple was standing at the marathon finishing line when the bombs detonated last April . She added: 'Being able to show people that you can take something so horrible and turn it into something so beautiful has been such a blessing to us.' Just before Christmas, a device that . had been drilled into Rebekah's bone was removed and replaced with a . cast - allowing her to stand again for the first time since the tragedy. ‘To put two feet on the ground again was the most amazing feeling,’ she told NBC News at the time. ‘And just right before Christmas, too. It’s like, what an amazing present this year.’ But Gregory still has a long way to go, and she has described the moment she put her foot down in the boot as extremely painful. ‘It . was awful. It was the worst pain all over again,’ she said. ‘Putting it . on the ground doesn’t feel right and it feels like it’s just crushing . what bones I have left.’ Her doctors estimated that it would be another six months to a year before she is walking more freely. She said she is so motivated by the achievement. Blast: An image shows the first of two bombs that detonated at the Boston marathon finishing line last year . ‘It . just hit me: I’ve come such a long way and even though I have such a . long way to go, I’m so blessed for this journey and to be able to help . people and inspire people along the way,’ she said. The . couple met on a work trip. 'Going through an experience like the . marathon makes you realize how short life really is and how we don't . really know how much time we have left,' Gregory said. 'And I know that with my time . there is nobody else I would want to spend it with. It made me . realize how much I cared about him and how much he was the only person . for me.' | Pete DiMartino, 28, and Rebekah Gregory, 26, both suffered serious leg injuries as they watched the marathon with Rebekah's son Noah last year .
But the tragedy brought them closer - and they got engaged in October .
After winning a 'dream wedding' package from marriage website TheKnot, the couple were married in North Carolina on Friday .
About 150 family and friends gathered for the ceremony at a 19th-century estate, with almost every detail decided upon by readers of the site .
Rebekah walked down the aisle on crutches as she still recovering from her injuries . |
246,297 | cac8a55b74253d2935a60aa4b0ab58d3f3d73c38 | By . Graeme Yorke . The Greek Football Association have offered young Celtic fan Jay Beatty the trip of a lifetime to see his hero Georgios Samaras in action at the World Cup. Beatty, who was carried around the pitch by Samaras on Celtic's end-of-season lap of honour, will get a chance to see the Greek striker when they take on Costa Rica in the last 16 on Sunday. The young fan was also handed a league winner's medal by manager Neil Lennon. Touching: Jay Beatty was offered the chance to see Greece play Costa Rica in the World Cup . Opportunity: Beatty was offered the chance to see his hero Georgios Samaras in last-16 action . The 11-year-old, who has Down's syndrome, was described by Samaras as 'a friend and an inspiration'. Beatty's dad received the call with the offer of a lifetime when about to take off for a holiday to USA. Samaras added: 'This boy gives me so much strength, it’s incredible. There are no words. I feel his love so much. This love I feel, is also felt by many people in Greece. There’s a Facebook page for him to come to Brazil.' Favourite: Samaras took Beatty around the pitch on Celtic's lap of honour . Once in a lifetime: The 11-year-old Beatty has Down's syndrome . Through his paces: Beatty joins in training with the Celtic team in Belfast last year . VIDEO: Jay Beatty is carried around the pitch on Celtic's lap of honour . 'This morning, in a talk I had with the head of the EPO, we said we will arrange his tickets to come and watch the match with Costa Rica. Well will talk with the boy’s father, we’ll tell him about everything and we’ll see.' Greece qualified for the last 16 with a last-gasp penalty to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their final Group C game and finish in second place behind Colombia. In the second round, the Euro 2004 champions will play surprise Group D winners Costa Rica, who topped their division ahead of Uruguay, Italy and England. | Greek FA offer Jay Beatty opportunity to watch Costa Rica game .
Beatty was plucked out of crowd by Georgios Samaras during Celtic's lap of honour .
11-year-old Beatty has Down's syndrome .
Samaras described Beatty as 'a friend and an inspiration' |
264,339 | e25e69788d71a60494ce451cdfb3d96c2256f886 | Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Asiana Airlines said it is paying $10,000 to each of the passengers aboard Flight 214, which crashed in San Francisco last month. "It is separate to medical compensation," spokeswoman Lee Hyo-min told CNN on Monday. She said even those who were not injured can receive payment. The spokeswoman added that passengers who collect the money "can still sue us." Crash: Couple stole passengers' luggage at airport . Three people were killed after the plane crashed short of the runway on July 6 at San Francisco International Airport. The San Mateo County coroner said one of those killed, 16-year-old Ye Mengyuan of China, was flung out of the plane and survived. But she was struck and killed by a rescue vehicle. Coroner: Asiana Airline passenger was alive until killed by rescue vehicle . San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White has apologized to Ye's family. "We're heartbroken. We're in the business of saving lives," she said. "There's not a lot of words to describe how badly we feel about it." The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, which also injured more than 180 people aboard the flight. Asiana crash probe moves on from San Francisco airport . | Passengers who collect the money "can still sue us," an Asiana spokeswoman says .
Three people were killed and more than 180 were injured after the crash .
One of those killed survived the crash but was run over by a rescue vehicle .
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating . |
158,616 | 590ae981571dbbe03d79fe7482996acc29324b2f | She is due to give birth in just a few weeks. But there is no slowing down for Chelsea Clinton. Despite quitting her $26,000-a-minute reporting job at NBC last month to focus on her baby, the 34-year-old was seen pounding the streets of New York yesterday looking serious in a business-like shirt and blazer. Scroll down fro video . Looking swell! Chelsea Clinton sported a huge baby bump as she ran errands in New York yesterday . Not long now: She is due to give months in a few weeks but will work for the Clinton Foundation until then . She spoke animatedly on the phone between errands as she continues to organize events for the Clinton Foundation. Bill and Hillary's daughter announced that she was pregnant with her investment banker husband Marc Mezvinsky in April. Her growing baby bump means her mother's bid for presidency could soon become a reality. Hillary Clinton vowed to postpone running for the nomination until she became a grandmother. So heavily-pregnant Chelsea will have been a welcome sight to supporters of a second Clinton administration. She had been working sporadically at the network since 2011 after winning a reported $600,000-a-year contract to report on stories featuring people or organizations doing public-spirited work. Chic: Chelsea was not about to let go of her sleek look despite being very far into her pregnancy . Taking it easy? The former first daughter quit her $26,000-a-minute job at NBC last month to focus on her baby . Just the ticket: Her growing baby bump will have been a welcome sight to voters backing Hillary Clinton for the Democrat nomination. Chelsea's mother vowed to postpone her bid until after she had become a grandmother . The network confirmed her exit on last month. She was initially hired to do stories for Brian Williams' 'Rock Center' news magazine but that program was canceled. Her work occasionally appeared on NBC's Nightly News. Politico magazine reported earlier this year that NBC was paying Clinton $600,000 annually before it was scaled back to a month-to-month deal in January. Her last piece for the network aired on August 1. Politic reported on Friday that Clinton's salary had worked out at an estimated $26,000 for each minute she appeared on air. Clinton and husband Marc, 36, celebrated their fourth-wedding anniversary at the end of last month. They were married in a lavish inter-faith ceremony in Rhinebeck, New York on July 31, 2010. Ready to go: The 34-year-old and her banker husband will likely raise the child in Gramercy, New York City . Peacemaker: The pregnancy seemed to be a bonding topic for Chelsea's father Bill and rival George W. Bush . Advice: Bush warned Clinton he will soon be much further down in the family pecking order after the birth . Side stage: Hillary, here watched her husband and Bush talk, has refused to push her nomination until the birth . The couple live in a $10.5million condo in the Gramercy area of Manhattan. Alex Wallace, senior vice president at NBC News, praised Clinton today and didn't rule out working with her in the future. She told People: 'Chelsea's storytelling inspired people across the country and showcased the real power we have as individuals to make a difference in our communities. 'While she will be missed, we look forward to working with her in the future.' Her exit removes some potential awkwardness for the network if her mother runs for president in 2016. The birth also seems to have settled awkward relations between her father and his former political rival George W. Bush. Appearing together to unveil a new Presidential Leadership Scholars program, the pair laughed and joked about being grandfathers. Bush warned Clinton: 'Get ready ... to be like the lowest person in the pecking order in your family.' | Former first daughter appeared making business calls with growing bump .
It comes weeks after she quit her $26,000-a-minute reporting job at NBC .
Welcome sight for supporters of Hillary who won't run until child is born . |
28,931 | 521df4f974a13986176fd016fad302dfb353fe37 | The Obama administration is preparing to publicly disclose for the first time a secret memo offering the legal justification for targeted drone strikes on U.S. citizens on foreign soil, multiple administration officials told CNN. Solicitor General Don Verrilli decided not to appeal the April 21 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals mandating the disclosure of the memo, and Attorney General Eric Holder agreed with that decision. The White House was informed Tuesday of the Justice Department's decision. The memo won't be made public right away. It has to go through a redaction process that will need to be approved by a judge, according to the administration officials. A redacted version also means that some of the intelligence the administration used to justify the drone strikes will not be made public. The memo to be released publicly has already been offered to the Senate on a classified basis, a senior administration official said. The legal explanation for the drone strikes was also outlined by the Justice Department in the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the father of suspected terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki. The administration said in that lawsuit that al-Awlaki posed an imminent threat. Anwar al-Awlaki was later killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen in 2011. The memo's author, former Justice Department official David Barron, has been nominated to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, based in Boston. Several U.S. senators from both parties had called upon the administration to release the memo to the public before Barron's confirmation. A procedural vote on Barron's nomination is expected Wednesday in the Senate. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the memo along with the New York Times, said it hopes the release "signals a broader shift in the administration's approach to the official secrecy surrounding its targeted killing program." "The release of this memo will allow the public to better understand the scope of the authority that the government is claiming," ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer said in a statement Tuesday. | The Obama administration will comply with a court ruling to release the memo .
A redacted document will be released to the public after a judge approves it .
The memo outlines the legal argument for targeting U.S. citizens on foreign soil .
U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen in a drone strike in 2011 . |
282,191 | f9856c90f5ac7b6c549c7f6a9866c7ff5962a076 | Andrew Castle pleaded guilty to attempted murder after trying to kill his wife of 18 years . He rigged a metal chair up to the mains then invited Margaret in 'for a chat' By . James Tozer . UPDATED: . 06:15 EST, 7 July 2011 . Andrew Castle set up the home-made electric chair after his wife Margaret asked to end their 18-year marriage . A husband built a makeshift electric chair in his garage and tried to kill his wife after she asked for a divorce. Andrew Castle, 61, ran a cable from a plug to a metal-framed armchair, then asked his wife Margaret in ‘for a chat’, a court heard. Once she was sitting down, he tried to knock her out with a rubber cosh, planning to electrocute her with the live wires. But she managed to wriggle free before 230 volts of mains electricity could pulse through her body, running out screaming. Castle was arrested after trying to electrocute himself with his own device then attempting to slash his wrists, and yesterday was beginning a ten-year prison sentence after admitting attempted murder. The macabre execution bid caused amazement among neighbours in the Lancashire town of Knott End-on-Sea, near Fleetwood. Castle, a former shop worker, and his 61-year-old wife, who used to be a clerk, married 18 years ago in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, before retiring to their £110,000 bungalow on the coast. Outdoor struggle: The couple fought outside their home in Knott End On Sea, Lancs, after Margaret had escaped from the garage . Neighbours believed the couple, who went on regular walking and cruising holidays together, were happy and content. But Mrs Castle found her husband ‘domineering and controlling’, and she . asked him for a divorce last autumn. From that time they were said to . have lived separate lives under the same roof. Castle moved the armchair into the garage before secretly rigging up the length of cable. On March 5 he told his wife he wanted a chat about her desire for a divorce, and got her to sit down. He told her he was going to kill her and grabbed a 12-inch rubber cosh, . apparently chosen to insulate him from the deadly current. But as he rained blows at her head she grabbed a stepladder, warding him . off for long enough to escape through a side door as he continued to . swing the cosh. Castle then tried to electrocute himself with his own contraption before slashing his wrists with a kitchen knife. Police called by a neighbour found him bleeding in the back garden crying: ‘What have I done, what have I done?’ Mrs Castle was treated in hospital for minor head injuries. Officers who examined the garage found a length of cable running from a . 13-amp plug to a lamp which was attached to a further cable with one end . exposed. When switched on at the plug, the live and neutral wires, if touched to . Mrs Castle’s skin or to the chair, would have given her a potentially . deadly shock. Castle immediately admitted what he had planned to detectives, . describing himself as ‘a nutter’. At Preston Crown Court he admitted . attempted murder and was jailed for ten years. The court heard he had planned to kill himself after murdering his wife. Castle later claimed he had been ‘simply unable to cope’ with the divorce and found it ‘overwhelming’. A psychiatric report concluded he had obsessive compulsive disorder and an adjustment disorder. Judge Anthony Russell QC said: ‘This was undoubtedly a planned attempt to kill, followed by a sustained and brutal attack. ‘There can be no doubt it was a very frightening experience for your . wife, but the physical injuries you inflicted were mercifully slight. However, the psychological effects must have been considerable.’ Neighbours were astonished by the attack. ‘Margaret is a lovely person . and everyone is very distressed that this happened,’ one said yesterday. ‘We always thought they were a lovely couple. ‘Margaret was understandably in a terrible state after what happened to her and she moved out of the house. ‘It’s incredible to think this man could have gone to such lengths to get even because of a divorce.’ Last night Mrs Castle, who is staying with relatives, said the trauma of the attack would always be with her. In a statement she said: ‘I finally decided that because of Andrew . Castle’s domineering and controlling behaviour, which got worse over our . 18 years of marriage, I would seek a divorce. ‘As a direct consequence of that decision he attempted to murder me. It . is by sheer good fortune that I am here today and the events of that . Saturday evening will always be with me.’ | Andrew Castle pleaded guilty to attempted murder after trying to kill his wife of 18 years .
He rigged a metal chair up to the mains then invited Margaret in 'for a chat' |
75,870 | d7232df2f2734cb81faed4211ff122735d3222a9 | By . Anna Sanders . PUBLISHED: . 01:13 EST, 6 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 00:20 EST, 8 June 2013 . An Ohio couple ended their nuptials to the familiar tunes--and insanity--of the 'Harlem Shake'. Sunday's ceremony in Salem, Ohio, began normally enough. 'I now pronounce you one together,' the pastor said. 'You are husband and wife.' Dance-off: Abby and Nate Netti took part in the 'Harlem Shake' craze at their wedding . As Abby and Nate Netti shared their first kiss, Nate raised his fist to cheers from the audience. The couple then held hands. And when they were presented as husband and wife 'for the very first time', the music began pumping. A groomsman started off the viral sensation, flailing his arms to the music as the newlyweds stared on, seemingly dumbfounded. An occasion: The service of Abby and Nate Netti began traditionally before a 'Harlem Shake' dance broke out . You may now kiss the bride: Nate Netti kisses his new wife before the entire wedding party breaks out in a 'Harlem Shake' dance . Something's up: A groomsman began the 'Harlem Shake' dance at Abby and Nate Netti's wedding . Do the Harlem Shake: When the beat dropped, Abby and Nate Netti, along with their whole wedding party, began to dance . But when the beat dropped, the Nettis joined in along with the rest of the wedding party. Even the pastor got in on the action, doing a variation on the Ukranian Kozachok folk dance. After a few moments, the music stopped suddenly and the ceremony ended. Celebration: Abby and Nate Netti celebrated their nuptials by doing the 'Harlem Shake' Man and wife: After the 'Harlem Shake', Abby and Nate Netti were finally presented as a couple . One last time: Abby and Nate Netti 'Harlem Shake' down the aisle . But the music started up again when the newlyweds walk back down the aisle. The pair, shaking their shoulders, 'dance their way into marital bliss,' as their friend, David Seymour and poster of the video, wrote on YouTube. As The Huffington Post pointed out, this isn't the first time the 'Harlem Shake' took over a wedding. In February, The Knot got together with Randy Fenoli Of 'Say Yes To The Dress' to produce their own version. Other renditions of the craze include ones by NASA and the Miami Heat basketball team, as well as the underwater shake by the University of Georgia Men's Swim and Dive team. | Abby and Nate Netti began their life together dancing, failing and shrugging their shoulders .
At the Salem, Ohio, wedding, the bridesmaids, groomsmen and even the pastor joined in . |
132,136 | 36e3a5fa82a8225f03a4e306dad36519170fa5a7 | By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 13:48 EST, 3 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:57 EST, 3 November 2013 . While University students are often stereotyped as bookworms with no common sense, new research has shown that they are actually picking up vital life skills while studying. Among them are the ability to turn on a grill, how to set up the internet, and how to budget. The list does little to undermine stereotypes however, as playing pub games, blagging essays and the effectiveness of napping all come high up. Other strange pieces of wisdom picked up between library sessions include the fact that fridges don't clean themselves, and why it is a bad idea to eat mould. A list of the top 50 'life skills' gained while at Uni has been published, revealing that students learn how to study all night and survive three days without sleep . A spokeswoman for Disney, which conducted the research to mark the release of Disney Pixar's Monsters University, said: 'No matter which walk of life you come from, it would seem that university is a great leveller. 'Learning day to day basics such as budgeting, how to book a doctor's appointment and using a washing machine along with finding out who you are and want to become is integral to the whole university experience. 'There's definitely a valuable alternative curriculum at Uni with some of it more fun than others. While some practical skills were picked up, such as basic DIY and how to tune a television, the benefits of napping were also in the top 50 . 'Not only does our research confirm this but it also reveals this is not particular to just today's generation of university students it also applies to previous generations.' Two thirds of students said that the experience of moving away from home had been a 'real eye opener' with nearly half saying that they were shocked by how little they knew when mum and dad were no longer around. In fact new students called home on average 20 times a month to check how to do things, though that lessened as time went on. Luckily for parents, however, those surveyed also said they only really started to appreciate home after they had gone. It took people four months to feel settled in their new accomodation, with five months passing before they knew who their friends were going to be. Among the hardest challenges were learning to live with strangers, making new friends, and mixing with people from different backgrounds. | A list of the top 50 'life skills' gained at Uni has been published .
Basic DIY, how to use a boiler and tuning a TV among the useful entries .
However blagging essays, napping and playing pub games also featured . |
171,319 | 69bf017db75aeead551ec647e359a03d07425634 | Active choice: The new TOPS implant will help patients with back pain without restricting future movement . An amazing new spinal ‘joint replacement’ implant is curing severe back pain by replacing worn-out vertebrae without any of the restrictions on their ability to move that are associated with more traditional treatment. Thousands of people have surgery to fix damaged vertebrae in the spine that cause back pain because they pinch the spinal cord or touch on nerves. Until now, one very common solution to the condition, known as spinal stenosis, has been to deal with the problem by ‘fusing’ several vertebrae so they don’t cause any more pain. But while the surgery is generally very successful, there is a price to pay. The spine can no longer make the full range of movement, so it is more difficult for the patient to bend and twist. Now Israeli medical scientists have developed the new titanium Total Posterior Solution implant – known as TOPS – that replaces the damaged or worn vertebrae. The implant is sandwiched into the spine and is a capable of giving the sufferer a full range of movement – without any pain. Ron Sacher, who has spent ten years developing TOPS, says many patients with spinal stenosis are relatively young and would like to resume an active life after surgery. He adds: ‘Fusion is the standard option if nothing else works to get rid of the pain. It stabilises the spine but it will limit the range of movement. For older patients, that might not be a problem. But many having this surgery are in their 40s and 50s and might still be taking part in a variety of sports.’ The surgery has been available in Europe for a while, but recently arrived in the UK, although, as yet, it is not on offer to patients through the NHS. ‘The most frequent spinal disease in people over-40s is spinal stenosis,’ says Sacher, ‘and that drove our company to find a better option than fusion.’ Dan Plev, one of two spinal surgeons using the implant at the London Spine Clinic, believes the operation is an excellent option. ‘A lot of our younger patients are seeking relief from pain but don’t want to be restricted,’ he says. ‘So we need an option that allows people to resume normal activity quite quickly. ‘Recovery from spinal fusion surgery can take months but this implant gets people back to where they want to be within a few weeks.’ The TOPS implant not only gives patients normal pain-free mobility – doctors say it offers protection to adjoining parts of the spine, preventing those bones from collapsing; a common effect of fusion surgery which can lead to even more immobility. Research shows that as many as one in four back fusion patients will require a second operation within two years because of complications. After completing five-year follow-ups on patients from trials in the US, Belgium and Israel, Premia Spine, which makes TOPS, believes its results are significantly better than those achieved by fusion. The drawback is its relative expense. But its makers say that is balanced by fewer complications than fusion, where re-surgery rates are 25 per cent compared with five per cent for TOPS. Mr Plev and a colleague at the London Spine Clinic have carried out eight TOPS operations, with the oldest patient a man in his 90s. ‘He had suffered for many years and feels like a new man since the surgery,’ says Mr Plev. ‘This shows that age is no restriction, although a significant number of our patients are in their 40s and 50s. One of the world’s biggest challenges is back pain. So if we can bring relief through surgery while keeping the spine fully mobile, then we are getting an excellent result.’ The TOPS implant is available at two NHS hospitals – Chase Farm, in Enfield, North London, and Southampton General. The cost is about £20,000. londonspineclinic.com . | New implant replaces damaged vertebrae without restricting ability to move .
Total Posterior Solution - TOPS - gives full range of movement without pain . |
97,386 | 0950b8d3ca19a914b0b1f1b21fba7736a77c2d38 | (CNN) -- Many Google users probably didn't notice this month that they can now display their search tips in the Hawaiian language. Hawaiian is one of more than 125 "interface languages" now available on Google. Wedged between Hausa and Hebrew, Hawaiian is one of more than 125 "interface languages" now available on Google. The list also includes some humorous twists on English, including "pirate," "Klingon" and "Elmer Fudd." But for Hawaiian educators, the addition of Hawaiian is a small step toward legitimizing a language that is considered "critically endangered" by the United Nations. "It's the capstone of a lot of work," said Keola Donaghy, an assistant professor of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. "We've been doing this work for 18 years, simply trying to make it easier for people who speak Hawaiian to use these kinds of technologies." It marks the first native American language available through the "Google in Your Language" program. Getting started . It took Donaghy several years to get the project off the ground through the "Google in Your Language" program, which was launched by the California-based company not long after it was founded in 1998. "The idea was to enable users worldwide to be able to access Google in the language of their choice, and if it wasn't available, to enable users to help make it so," Google spokesman Nate Tyler said. "Why limit users to a set of dominant languages if they were willing to help make Google their own?" The results of the search are still in English, although the user can select a preference for Web pages written in more than 40 other main languages. Google works with linguists like Donaghy who are interested in translating search instructions into their language. "Volunteers sign up on their own to provide translation," Tyler explained. "They simply sign themselves up, declare a language proficiency, and then start translating or reviewing the products that are available for volunteer translation. "When the translations are completed, we make the product(s) available in that language. Recent other languages like this include Maori language." It was the Maori project, launched last year, that actually helped get Donaghy's initiative off the ground. Three years ago, Donaghy started e-mailing and calling Google about a Hawaiian language project, but he got no response. He put the project on hold until last year. "When I heard the Maori version came out, I asked Google about it," Donaghy said. "Apparently the original (language) coordinator had gone and as soon as a new coordinator was brought online, they set up the system." Donaghy began working on the massive translation project sometime late last year. "It was whenever I could find an hour or two in between teaching or other duties," he said. "It was a combination of personal and work time." He spent more than 100 hours translating the search terms that appear on the Google page into Hawaiian through the program. "I did the actual translation from beginning to end, and then I consulted with my colleagues at the university who have worked on these projects in the past," Donaghy said. "I wanted to be very consistent -- such as how you say 'Go to this menu and select this' -- or people may become confused." What's Hawaiian for 'browsing' the Web'? Some of the Hawaiian words for terms such as "links" or "Web browser" had already been established when Donaghy and others worked on translating the Netscape Navigator search engine in 1997. "Over the years, we usually face the debate of do we want to 'Hawaiianize' an English word, or take an old Hawaiian word and give it a new meaning," he said. He explained some of the challenges in translating terms, such as "browsing" or "surfing," into Hawaiian. "People use the term 'surf the Internet' and they'll say 'he'e nalu' which is literally surfing the ocean out on a board," he explained. "But we use 'kele,' which is what you do when you're steering a canoe. So we chose that as you're navigating the net." Donaghy finished the translation project in April, but there were issues with the code for the search engine that would not activate the Hawaiian language interface. The Hawaiian language interface actually launched on Apple's Safari browser first because Donaghy had worked with Apple to ensure that the language's diacritical marks and characters were available on the company's computers. "Now, it comes with every computer that they ship," he said. See and hear phrases in Hawaiian » . Some Apple computer users who had selected Hawaiian as their primary language for other programs noticed a couple of weeks ago that Google's search terms started appearing in Hawaiian, too. "People started calling me and asking, 'Did you hack into my computer? My Google is in Hawaiian,'" Donaghy said. "And that was the point I said, 'OK, word is getting out about this' and I put out a news release. I was afraid someone was going to start freaking out, 'Why is my computer in Hawaiian?'" Important milestone for Hawaii's culture . The initiative is an important milestone for Hawaiian linguists and cultural educators who have pushed to have their native language taught in schools alongside English. It wasn't until the 1980s that the law banning the Hawaiian language from being taught in schools was overturned. The law was established in the late 19th century as a prerequisite to Hawaii becoming a U.S. territory. Today, more and more Hawaiians are studying and majoring in Hawaiian language programs. There are Hawaiian language immersion programs in which English is taught as a second language. Mona Wood, a Hawaiian speaker and owner of a public relations firm in Honolulu, said there has been a kind of Hawaiian language "renaissance" in the state since the late 1970s. "Even tourism has been learning and growing and realizing that our 'host culture' must be added to the visitor experience," Wood said. "There are many more programs available at hotels and shopping malls that weren't there 20 years ago." Wood said that when she studied Hawaiian in college, it was under the foreign languages department. "It has been so wonderful to see so many of our youth embrace the native culture and see the programs expand to the point where there is an entire Hawaiian Studies Department," she said. "One can now get a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) and M.A. (Master of Arts) in Hawaiian language." Wood -- who owns Ikaika Communications, which represents local officials, local and national companies and celebrities including Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman -- said that when she was growing up, "Our culture was dying in every way." "Learning my roots came through my own curiosity -- choosing to take hula lessons when my mom wanted me to take piano," she said. "Then I went to the Hawaiian High School, Kamehameha, and continued with some Hawaiian classes and joined a club at UH (University of Hawaii). "Seeing Hawaiian knowledge becoming an asset over the years has been truly satisfying," she said. Donaghy hopes the Google initiative is another step toward giving Hawaiian "the same status as English and other major European and Asian languages" -- particularly in the fast-moving sector of technology. "To me personally it's very important that we are giving the opportunity to have as many things in Hawaiian as in English," he said. "So if we had not begun to address technology in the early 1990s, we would be telling people that this is a place where Hawaiian doesn't belong. You have to revert to English. "We didn't want to send that kind of message so we've worked to make the language more accessible." | Google search terms now available in Hawaiian .
Keola Donaghy spent 100 hours translating for "Google in Your Language" program .
Hawaiian is considered a "critically endangered" language by the U.N.
It is the only native American language available in Google search preferences . |
95,576 | 06d68ffd40805e499d166e40f59174ca17816839 | Click here for video . Thursday, August 20, 2009 . 8:13 PM ET - Gruesome details emerging from Buena Park police in the brutal death of 28 year old Jasmine Fiore. Not only was Fiore stuffed in a suitcase and thrown away in a dumpster, but we learn Fiore's teeth and fingers were removed. Authorities believe the murder suspect, Ryan Jenkins, is armed with a handgun, still on the run, most likely in Canada. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) 7:24 PM ET - Moments ago Buena Park, California police announced that as of this afternoon an arrest warrant has been issued for Ryan Jenkins in the murder of 28 year old swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore. Jenkins is officially a fugitive. Although Jenkins' black BMW has been located in Washington State, Fiore's white Mercedes is still missing. Authorities do believe Jenkins has crossed the border into Canada and they are now working with Canadian Royal Police to apprehend Jenkins. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) 6:23 PM ET - Major developments right now! The Orange County DA's office confirms they will file murder charges against reality TV star Ryan Jenkins in the brutal death of swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore. A news conference is set to take place any moment, standby for more details. We will also bring you all the latest developments on the show at 8pm EST for the full hour tonight. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) 3 PM ET - Is a reality TV star wanted for questioning in the murder of swimsuit model 28 year old Jasmine Fiore on the run? LA cops have been unable to get in touch with Ryan Jenkins since Jenkins reported her missing and cops discovered the gorgeous model dead inside a suitcase dumped inside a Buena Park apartment complex dumpster. The last reported sightings of Jenkins were in San Diego alongside Fiore, before her death and within the last 48 hours near a Washington state marina. Jenkins' car and empty boat trailer discovered at that marina alongside the US-Canadian border. The Buena Park police are set to hold a news conference shortly. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) 1:41 PM ET - Investigators confirm a reality TV star they want to question in connection with the murder of swimsuit beauty Jasmine Fiore may be heading for the border. A car and empty boat trailer belonging to Ryan Jenkins was discovered at a marina in Washington State, a few miles from the Canadian border. Authorities say Jenkins most likely walked across the border to British Columbia. LAPD wants to question Jenkins as a person of interest in Fiore's death because he was one of the last people to see her, reported her missing hours before the model's body was found, then took off. Jenkins has a criminal domestic violence record and was best known for his appearance on VH1's "Megan Wants a Millionaire". In light of the investigation, VH1 has shut down airing any more new episodes. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) Wednesday, August 19, 2009: 7:28 PM ET - Preliminary reports are the swimsuit model found dead in a suitcase inside a Buena Park, California dumpster was strangled. Jasmine Fiore had signs of physical trauma when her body was discovered Saturday morning. The shocking discovery came just hours after her husband, reality TV star, Ryan Jenkins reported Fiore missing. The pair was last spotted in San Diego at a poker game Friday night. And the skeletons are already flying out of the closet for Jenkins. We've just received a criminal report stemming from a 2005 assault case in Calgary, Alberta involving Jenkins and a woman who was not Jasmine Fiore. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) 5:36 PM ET - A reality TV star is making headlines at this hour for something other than appearing on the airwaves on VH1's "Megan Wants a Millionaire." Police want to question 32 year old Ryan Jenkins in connection with the brutal death of a young, gorgeous swimsuit model. 28 year old Jasmine Fiore vanished after a poker tournament in San Diego. Fiore was allegedly there with Jenkins and reports are the two were husband and wife, secretly married in Las Vegas. Police confirm Jenkins was the one who reported Fiore missing Saturday night, just hours after her body was discovered in a bloody suitcase, thrown away like trash at a Buena Park apartment complex dumpster...but then Jenkins went missing. There are two vehicles of interest in the search for Jenkins...Fiore's white 2007 Mercedes CL S550 and Jenkins' black BMW X5. Police say Jenkins could be behind the wheel of either car. (From Stacey Newman, Nancy Grace Producer) | Jasmine Fiore, 28, was found choked to death and stuffed in a suitcase .
Her husband, reality star Ryan Alexander Jenkins now a murder suspect in the case .
Jenkins reported Fiore missing last Saturday night . |
208,087 | 9965d0b3542262081730cc4ebf9916eaaf5b1663 | Christmas in the United States is a combination of traditions from around the world. Evergreen trees inside homes were popularized in Germany during the 16th century. Decorating with poinsettias? That idea came from Mexico (and the name of the plant came from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Minister to Mexico). And 18th-century England helped to change mistletoe's image from a poisonous plant to a poisonous plant that's also a festive kissing trap. However, there's one favorite tradition with an All-American origin: electric Christmas tree lights. It started when Edward H. Johnson, a friend and business partner of Thomas Edison, put a string of 80 hand-wired red, white and blue electric lights on a Christmas tree in 1882. Since the majority of Americans didn't have access to electric power until the 1930s, it took about 50 years for Johnson's creation to become popular. Since then, it's become an essential part of American Christmas celebrations, whether that means a couple of strings of "tasteful" white lights around the family tree or a pulsating public display synchronized to "Jingle Bell Rock" that can be seen from low orbit. With a nod to Mr. Johnson's first tree, here are eight of the best locations in the United States where the electric light tradition continues to shine brightly. Disney's Hollywood Studios (Lake Buena Vista, Florida) Back in 1986, Arkansas businessman Jennings Osborne started decorating his Little Rock home for his daughter during the holidays. What began with 1,000 lights snowballed into three million lights and numerous court challenges to turn the lights off (though the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case). Eventually, Osborne agreed to move his display, now known as The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida. With five million lights, the show requires more than 10 miles of rope lighting and another 30 miles in extension cords. Visitors can even don a special Made with Magic ear hat, a version of the classic Mickey Mouse ears that flashes colors along with the music. November 7, 2014 to January 4, 2015 . Disney's Hollywood Studios, 351 South Studio Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Florida . Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas) It may seem counterproductive to leave the Las Vegas Strip to look at bright lights, but to find Christmas lights in the Nevada desert, visitors can drive down to the racetrack. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts Glittering Lights, a 2.5-mile circuit that gives car-bound visitors the opportunity to see more than 400 animated displays. It should be noted that while Glittering Lights is hosted at the speedway, the event doesn't have visitors drive on the superspeedway track, so crash helmets and lead feet aren't required. For the upcoming holiday season, up to 30,000 vehicles are expected to make the circuit. November 14, 2014 to January 4, 2015 . Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas . Smithsonian's National Zoo (Washington, D.C.) During the holidays, the nation's capitol is home to a unique event that manages to combine sparkling Christmas light displays with animals that prefer the dark. Zoolights turns Smithsonian's National Zoo into a 500,000-LED-light winter wonderland. At this free event, families can take a spin on the solar-powered Speedwell Conservation Carousel, which features custom-carved figures of 58 species of animals, including a clouded leopard and a sloth bear. The zoo's Small Mammal House, Great Ape House and Reptile Discovery Center are open, so visitors can warm up and see some of the zoo's nocturnal animals. November 28, 2014 to January 1, 2015, except for December 24, 25, and 31 . Smithsonian's National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri) While Branson, Missouri, has grown by leaps and celebrity theaters over the last several decades, Silver Dollar City has been here since 1960. The theme park is a celebration of Ozark Mountains culture and, for more than two decades, host to An Old Time Christmas festival. With more than 5 million lights and 1,000 decorated trees, along with nightly parades and two musical productions, An Old Time Christmas is home to the 5-Story Special Effects Christmas Tree that features 350,000 LED lights and, synchronized with Christmas music, can make up to 100 light changes per second. November 1, 2014 to December 30, 2014 . Silver Dollar City, 399 Silver Dollar City Railroad, Branson, Missouri . Denver Botanic Gardens (Denver, Colorado) For those who want to see Christmas lights dazzle in a Rocky Mountain setting, there's "Blossoms of Light" at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Following a half-mile path through the Gardens' 24 acres, visitors see thousands of colorful lights highlight the winter beauty of Ponderosa pines, cottonwoods and other native Western plants. December 5, 2014 to January 1, 2015 . Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St., Denver, Colorado . Macy's at Center City (Philadelphia) Since 1956, parents have brought their children to Philadelphia's Center City to marvel at a department store's resident light display during the holidays. Macy's (formerly Wanamaker's) Christmas Light Show has a Magic Christmas Tree and more than 100,000 LEDs arranged behind a four-story velvet curtain that tell a story with reindeer, toy soldiers and ballerinas. At the end of the show, the 287-ton Wanamaker Organ, the largest operational pipe organ in the world, plays "O Tannenbaum." Julie Andrews is the narrator of the light show, though it was formerly narrated by baritone John Facenda, known as the "Voice of God" from NFL Films. November 28, 2014 to December 31, 2014 . Macy's at Center City, 1300 Market St., Philadelphia . Zilker Park (Austin, Texas) It takes an estimated 15,000 hours and 1,500 volunteers to put together Austin's Trail of Lights. Located in the Texas capital's Zilker Park, the popular light show is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The 1.25-mile walking circuit features more than 50 light displays, 100 lighted trees, a nightly Yule Log and a 90-foot Ferris wheel. Standing above it all is the Zilker Tree, at 155 feet it's the tallest man-made free-standing Christmas tree in the world. December 7, 2014 to December 21, 2014 . Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas . Santa Claus House (North Pole, Alaska) North Pole, Alaska's, name comes from an attempt to convince a toy company to move to town. The toymaker never materialized, but residents of this Fairbanks suburb did embrace the Christmas spirit and for the last eight years have hosted the six-week Christmas on Ice festival that combines festive Christmas lights with intricately carved ice sculptures. And despite the fact that this is Alaska in winter, there are outdoor activities for kids, including ice slides and massive ice bowl "twirlers" where kids can sit and be spun until the colorful lights become a nauseating blur. November 29, 2014 to January 6, 2014 . Santa Claus House, 101 Saint Nicholas Drive, North Pole, Alaska . | Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida has 5 million lights .
A 2.5-mile circuit in Las Vegas shows off more than 400 animated displays .
A five-story Christmas tree in Branson, Missouri, features 350,000 LEDs . |
186,960 | 7e1dbf8ada4f2b6319ecd68b197bc4bae9b66520 | By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 13:55 EST, 10 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:33 EST, 10 January 2013 . Just over 12 per cent of the teenagers interviewed as part of the study had thought about suicide (file picture) Roughly one in 25 teenagers in the U.S. has attempted suicide, while one in eight has thought about it, according to a national study based on interviews with thousands of teens. Researchers said the numbers were similar to the prevalence of lifetime suicidal thinking and attempts reported by adults, suggesting the teenage years are an especially vulnerable time. The results are based on face-to-face interviews of close to 6,500 teens in the United States, along with questionnaires filled out by their parents. Along with asking the youths about their suicidal thinking, plans and attempts, interviewers also determined which teens fit the bill for a range of mental disorders. Matthew Nock, a psychologist who worked on the study at Harvard University, said: 'What adults say is, the highest risk time for first starting to think about suicide is in adolescence.' The findings, which appeared in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, suggest just over 12 per cent of the youths had thought about suicide, while four per cent had made a suicide plan and four per cent had attempted suicide. Nock and his colleagues found almost all teens who thought about or attempted suicide had a mental disorder, including depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or problems with drug or alcohol abuse. More than half of the youths were already in treatment when they reported suicidal behavior, which Nock said was both encouraging and disturbing. He said: 'We know that a lot of the kids who are at risk and thinking about suicide are getting (treatment).' But he warned: 'We don't know how to stop them - we don't have any evidence-based treatments for suicidal behavior.' The findings leave many questions unanswered. Because most youths who think about suicide never go on to make an actual plan or attempt it, doctors need to get better at figuring out which ones are most at risk of putting themselves in danger, according to Nock. More than half of the youths were already in treatment when they reported suicidal behavior, which researchers say is both encouraging and disturbing (file picture) Once those youths are identified, researchers will also have to determine the best way to treat them, since it's clear a lot of current methods aren't preventing suicidal behavior, he said. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of ten and 24. Although girls are more likely to attempt suicide - a pattern confirmed by Nock's study - boys have higher rates of death by suicide. | Just over 12 per cent of teens had thought about suicide, researchers say .
Harvard University study interviewed close to 6,500 youngsters .
Almost all teens who attempted suicide had a mental disorder, study finds . |
164,475 | 60aecc1a5949b7f258dc83be864f7d5d5c8276c2 | More than two decades after the death of the systematic racial discrimination policy of apartheid, a community living southeast of South Africa's capital Pretoria is being accused of trying to keep its racist ideals alive. White men clad in military uniforms stamped with an old South African flag guard the gates of the controversial settlement known as Kleinfontein. All the signs within its boundaries are written in Afrikaans, the language that developed out of the Dutch dialect spoken by early colonizers and which is spoken by the town's 1,000 white inhabitants. A bust of Hendrick Verwoerd, the assassinated prime minister considered the architect of apartheid, greets visitors upon entry. "Kleinfontein is a cultural community," explains its spokeswoman Marisa Haasbroek, "if you are not an Afrikaaner you cannot live here." Afrikaaners are white South Africans of mostly Dutch descent. The private settlement has made headlines in recent weeks after it was exposed by a local newspaper. Haasbroek defends its existence saying residents simply want to live among their own kind. The 50-year-old mother of two tells CNN she moved to Kleinfontein six years ago shortly after her car was stolen in the city center. "I was just sick of crime," she says. "My parents-in-law were already living here and they told us Kleinfontein is safe," Haasbroek, her engineer husband and their children packed their belongings and moved to the "whites only" enclave. The area has been in existence since the 1990s. It was formed on the eve of democratic elections at around the same time as its better-known sister settlement, Orania, in the Northern Cape. Most South Africans knew Orania but have only recently learned about Kleinfontein. Its residents are accused of using culture and heritage to discriminate against black people. There were even reports that the community has once refused to be assisted by black police officers. Read more: How S Africa avoided bloody war . "That's simply not true," Haasbroek says. "We do not discriminate, we differentiate." South Africa's official opposition recently held a protest at Kleinfontein vowing to "liberate" residents from their "apartheid mindsets." The mayor of Tshwane -- the municipality Kleinfontein falls under -- has also conducted a site visit, saying he supported the residents' right to "conserve their heritage but that it must be balanced with the freedom of others to reside anywhere in the republic." Despite differing opinions on the matter their right to self-determination is protected by the constitution and the government has said they have the right to live this way. Race is still an emotional topic in South Africa and Haasbroek has been at pains to explain that residents are screened based on culture, language, religion, history - but not race. Read more: The cricketer who took on apartheid regime . "We are trying to preserve our own identity," Haasbroek says. "We are swamped by people who are not like us. We are a minority like the people of Tibet in China and like the Palestinians. But we don't want our own state. We respect the laws of South African and we want to remain here." Orania and Kleinfontein represent about 2,000 people, a tiny minority of the overall Afrikaaner community in South Africa. Haasbroek says crime and affirmative action have left them feeling left out of the so-called "Rainbow Nation." "We don't really feel welcomed in the new South Africa so we are saying, just give us a little bit of independence." They already run their own school and they build their own infrastructure. They want to be recognized as a self-contained municipality -- something the local government has said will not happen. | The South African community of Kleinfontein is accused of keeping apartheid's ideals alive .
Apartheid was a policy of systematic racial discrimination .
A Kleinfontein spokeswoman says it is a "cultural community" for Afrikaaners only .
Its residents are accused of using culture and heritage to discriminate against black people . |
170,852 | 69212a4f64db4c12ea6f77305bae9ebe97fc64af | By . Daily Mail Reporter . A woman whose daughter died during a police shooting is asking a judge to order authorities to diclose the name of the officer who accidentally shot her daughter. Nella Rebello, whose daughter Andrea, 21, died in May 2013 home invasion, said in a court affidavit filed on Wednesday that she has yet to be told the killer's identity. 'As of today, no one from the Police Department has ever told me who shot the bullet that killed my daughter, who was in charge when she was shot or how it came to be that they did not wait for a hostage negotiator to come and try to save her,' Rebello said. Andrea Rebello, left, was killed in May by a police officer who fired eight times at Dalton Smith, right, who had Rebello in a headlock. Seven bullets hit Smith and one hit Rebello, killing both . Tragic: Andrea's boyfriend, Brad Wilson, parted ways with her after partying at a bar near the Hofstra University campus on Thursday night. He never got to say goodbye to his sweetheart before she was killed . The filing is part of the Rebello family's effort to get more information from authorities, as they prepare to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Nassau County, Newsday reports. In the suit, the family alleges 'wrongful death, civil rights and negligence actions against the County of Nassau and its police officers and possibly other defendants to be named after discovery,' CBS New York reported in June. Rebello also said in the affidavit that while waiting to identify her daughter's body, she was led to believe 'it was the person who had taken her hostage that had killed her,' Newsday reports. She said police came to her home the next day, telling her a police officer killed her daughter, with no name or photo -- while giving her a picture and the name of the home intruder. Horrific: John Kourtessis, who is dating Jessica Rebello - the surviving twin sister - allegedly tried to keep the gunman calm throughout the ordeal . Andrea and Jessica Rebello, pictured, reportedly lived close to campus . Dalton Smith, 30, allegedly followed Andrea . Rebello, twin sister Jessica Rebello and her friends home from a bar, . watching them spend large amounts of money on drinks celebrating the end . of the semester at Hofstra University before he broke into their . Uniondale home, MailOnline earlier reported. One of the residents was able to escape and call the police by telling Smith she was going to an ATM to get money. Smith reportedly had pointed a gun at Andrea Rebello's head, while holding her in a headlock and using her as a human shield when facing the responding officer. The officer fired eight shots at Smith, hitting him seven times -- with the eighth bullet hitting Andrea Rebello in the head. Both were killed, CBS New York reported. MailOnline reported earlier this year that Smith, 30, was wanted on parole violation and had a nearly 15-year arrest history prior to the May shooting. In December 2013, the Rebello family sought Nassau County records - but were shocked to hear the 'investigation is in its infancy,' family lawyer David Roth recalled. Though the police officer's name has yet to be publicly released, Nikolas Budimlic was earlier reported by the NY Post as the man responsible for Rebello's death. Budimlic, a 12-year Nassau veteran and 7-year NYPD veteran, also has his name included appears in police records given to Roth, Newsday reports. The May 2013 shooting which killed Andrea Rebello is believed to have taken place in this Uniondale home . Twins Jessica and Andrea Rebello, seen in this undated Facebook photo, were startled when Dalton Smith broke into their off-campus home . | Nella Rebello says cops have yet to tell her name of cop who killed daughter Andrea Rebello during May 2013 home invasion .
Rebello family to sue Nassau County for wrongful death .
Earlier reports identified Nikolas Budimlic, 42, as the officer responsible .
Rebello family says it was told by police in December that the 'investigation is in its infancy'
Andrea Rebello, 21, was a junior at Hofstra University living off-campus with her twin sister Jessica Rebello and friends .
Dalton Smith, 30, apparently broke into the home after following the Rebello twins and their friends from an off-campus bar . |
119,483 | 2656d2dea68be5c685c16e3ae39442793c9b0126 | A leading Tory MP has voiced his anger as a crushed commuter on Britain’s ‘Sardine Express.’ He said rail company South West Trains was treating its customers like ‘a cash cow’ while forcing them to endure misery in overcrowded conditions that would provoke prosecutions if livestock were treated so badly. Rising star Esher and Walton MP Dominic Raab said that like many of his constituents, he had the misfortune to be crammed into the most overcrowded commuter train in Britain – the 7.32am South West trains service from Woking to Waterloo. Tory MP Dominic Raab spoke out about the overcrowded commuting conditions on South West Trains . During the debate in Westminster Hall, Raab pointed out that conditions were 'one grade below cattle class' He told Transport Minister Claire Perry: ‘It’s little wonder the Daily Mail dubbed the service the Sardine Express.’ Speaking during a debate which he instigated in the Commons’ Westminster Hall he noted: ‘EU rules stipulate that calves, adult goats and unshorn sheep must be transported by train in an area of space of at least 0.3 metres squared per unit of livestock. ‘Yet, the new government standard for commissioning commuter services for humans is now 0.25 metres squared, significantly less. ‘I understand that the only train company currently operating to that standard is - you guessed it - South West Trains’. He said he and his overcrowded constituents were paying soaring fares and massive subsidies to improve other rail services across the UK ‘for the privilege of travelling at one grade below cattle class on South West Trains’. South West Trains customers ‘feel quite literally as if they are treated like a cash cow, despite travelling in sub-cattle class conditions,’ he said. But while his words of woe will resonate with millions of commuters the length and breadth of Britain, they are likely to be met with dismay by Transport ministers. Waterloo Station is the final stop for Britain's most overcrowded commuter train: the Woking to Waterloo route . Mr Raab, a judo black belt who boards at Esher station in Surrey said: ‘I know first-hand how packed the carriages are. Occasionally, it’s impossible even to get on the train.’ He said the service had become even worse since last year: ‘I say this not just from the clear data available, but also as a commuting MP.' He said: ‘I stand on the platform with my constituent paying an ever-increasing fare both for the train service and the parking at the station. ‘And together we have experienced the steadily increasing overcrowding of a prime commuter route.’ Mr Raab said he was ‘not surprised’ to learn that 2013 data from the Department for Transport had pinpointed his regular service – the 7.32am train from Woking to Waterloo train – as having ‘the largest number of passengers in excess of capacity’, rail industry jargon for ‘most overcrowded.’ He said: ‘By the time it arrives at Esher at 7.52am, it’s packed to the gunnels.’ Official data showed it has 540 passengers over its specified maximum capacity limit – or 73 per cent over its official capacity ceiling. Raab opened up discussion about the high fares and poor service that his constituents must endure . He noted: ‘The 7.32 has consistently appeared in the top 10 overcrowded peak services in recent years. Nor is it a freak time … for example, the 7.02am service is almost as packed.‘ . He said Surrey commuters were particularly hard-hit with high fares and poor service. In his own Elmbridge borough alone - dubbed the ‘Beverley Hills of Britain for the high concentation of celebrities and premiership football players - nearly 12 million people using the stations. Recorded journeys have almost doubled between 2002 and 2010. A season ticket for the 25 minute journey from Esher to Waterloo currently costs just under £2,000, he said, noting: ‘Fares will rise by 3% again in the New Year.’ Surreys ‘sardine’ commuters are also subsiding services elsewhere, contributing £6billion to the Treasury but getting back less than £1billion in services. In 2013/14, South West Trains passengers paid Department of Transport the highest premium for their rail service - 5.2 pence per passenger per kilometre. By contrast some 13.1 pence subsidy ‘doled out’ by the government to Arriva Trains Wales, while London Midland received 2.8p and South Eastern 2.2p. In the four years to 2013/14, South West Trains passengers had ‘coughed up the largest subsidy to government coffers of any train company’ totalling just over £1 billion. Although this was ‘a truly staggering amount’ it appeared ‘quite arbitrary no-one could explain to him how it was calculated.' South West Trains passengers recently ranked their service 3rd worst in the country in terms of value for money. Only 37 per cent thought they were getting value for money compared to 78 per cent of Grand Central passengers and 61% of Virgin Trains passengers, he said. Excuses from South West trains might be ‘easier to swallow’ if director remuneration at parent company Stagecoach Group ‘doubled between 2010 and 2014,’ he said. Nicknamed the 'Sardine Express,' Raab urged Transport Minister Claire Perry to acknowledge the line's falws . He told ministers that during the pressing financial crisis his constituents have ‘rather stoically endured’ the immediate frustration of high fares and acute overcrowding: ‘But, when I stand on that platform, with my fellow constituents taking the Sardine Express up to Waterloo, I need to be able to explain how we are going to address the conditions of travel, which are often cramped and uncomfortable, over the long term. ‘I need to explain how we are going to deliver better value for money and to give them some light at the end of the tunnel.’ Transport Minister Mrs Perry said she had first-hand experience of the crush ‘Sardine Express’ having travelled on it during a ‘mystery shopping exercise’ on a day when four carriages had been removed. She said overcrowding was ‘perversely a measure of success’ because more people were using the railways. But she acknowledged the South West franchise, drawn up under labour, was flawed. | Tory MP Dominic Raab spoke out about conditions on South West Trains .
Claims the overcrowded rail company treats its customers like 'a cash cow'
Constituents paying soaring fares to 'travel at one grade below cattle class' |
200,852 | 9004f0c37a609381efd07d076e5eb27d7db8b01e | By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 05:53 EST, 4 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:17 EST, 5 June 2012 . The British mother being held in Indonesia on suspicion of drugs trafficking has told how she fears for her six-year-old daughter's life. Rachel Dougall is currently receiving treatment in hospital for stress after collapsing in her jail cell, claiming she hadn't . 'slept or eaten for days'. She has been sedated and is being fed through . a drip. She, along with three other Britons including her partner Julian Ponder, face the death penalty after being arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.6 million. Despair: Prison officials struggle to take Rachel Dougall, the British . woman held over a £1.6 million cocaine haul, to hospital . Depressed: Dougall was moved to hospital after refusing to eat . and constantly calling out for her six-year-old daughter Kitty . Police . believe Dougall, 38, and Ponder, 43, were the . lynchpins in a crime syndicate supplying the drug to rich tourists on . the Indonesian island of Bali. If convicted, they could be sentenced to death by firing squad. Dougall's six-year-old daughter Kitty, is currently being cared for by the family's maid and her gardening husband, although Dougall's parents are believed to be flying out from Britain. Speaking from her guarded room at Bali's Trijata Hospital, Dougall appeared frail and confused as she asked if the story was in British newspapers. Bewildered: Six-year-old Kitty Ponder standing with her family's maid Dayu Ariani and her gardening husband Ketut Suranchan . When she was told it was, she said she feared for her daughter Kitty’s life. Propping herself up on her elbow, she said: 'Oh my god, is my daughter safe? 'I am afraid for my daughter's life. ‘I am sick. I am suffering from stress. My mother and father are arriving.’ A Bali police spokesperson earlier confirmed officers had been forced to stop questioning Ms Dougall temporarily due to her bad health. 'We don't interrogate sick people,' he said. 'It will be against their human rights. We will be waiting until she is healthy again and then we will continue the questions.' Problems: Ms Dougall is now believed to be seeing a psychiatrist in hospital . Starved: Reports have said she did not eat anything for more than five days . Dougall has consistently protested her innocence since her arrest, insisting she was the victim of a 'fit-up'. The four suspects were held in a sting operation after British housewife Lindsay Sandiford, 55, was allegedly caught with 4.8kg of cocaine stuffed in the lining of a suitcase after being stopped at Bali's Denpasar airport after she arrived from Bangkok on May 19. Customs officials allegedly found 10.3lb of cocaine wrapped in pink gift paper. Bali’s head of Customs, Mr Made Wijaya, said: ‘It was stupid. There had been no attempt to conceal it.’ He . claimed that Sandiford had previously met up with Dougall in a . Bangkok airport cafe. She had been given a sim card for her mobile phone and that Sandiford made a ‘dry run’ a few days before she was found with the drugs. He . said: ‘She came into Bali on May 5 and left a few days later. Then she . came in on May 19, which is when she was arrested. I believe she only . did this because she was forced to.’ Accused: Ms Dougall is pictured with her partner and fellow suspect Julian Ponder . Drugs: Lindsay Sandiford was allegedly caught with 4.8kg of cocaine stuffed in the lining of a suitcase as she arrived on the island . Referring to Dougall, he said: ‘She ordered the drugs. She organised this. Rachel was telling Lindsay what to do. Rachel made the first contact with Lindsay.’ It is believed Sandiford decided to co-operate with the police over a £1 bowl of chilli fried rice. They told her she would face the death penalty unless she helped trap the other suspected members of the drugs gang. A sting was set up allowing Sandiford to keep the drugs . with her in a £25-a-night hotel room, where she was accompanied by an . undercover police officer while she waited to be contacted by one of the . others in the alleged syndicate. Police claim Ponder turned up at the hotel while another Briton, Paul . Beales, whom they believe was the gang’s ‘muscle’, waited nearby. Informant: Sandiford reportedly gave police information about the other suspects over a £1 bowl of chilli rice . Suspect: Paul Beales, right, has also been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking . Ponder has alleged that he was set up by Sandiford as he went to pick up a birthday present for his daughter. Dougall . and Ponder's plush Bali villa was built on 17,222 sq ft of land bought in . 2009 — the year after Mr Ponder’s UK-based party-organising business was . liquidated with huge debts. The . luxurious property is worth at least $300,000 (£195,000) on the local . market — a small fortune in Indonesia, where the minimum wage is about . £100 a month. It . is located in the village of Desa Belalang in Tabanan, about an hour’s . drive from Bali’s main tourist areas. The couple began living here with . their daughter a few months ago. The couple are also believed to own a property in Cyprus. The Foreign Office said British officials were helping Dougall's daughter as well as the arrested Britons. A spokesman said it did not have any information regarding the reports that Dougall had been taken to hospital. Home: This is the villa where Rachel Dougall and Julian Ponder were living before they were arrested . Family: It is believed Ms Dougall is in a relationship with Mr Ponder and the couple have a little girl Kitty, pictured here in the villa without her parents . Customs . officials have said that Sandiford, originally from Redcar, . Teesside, may be spared the death sentence because she helped catch . three other members of the smuggling operation, who could face a firing . squad. Police . have 60 days before they have to hand over their files to prosecutors, . it is believed Sandiford is thought to have told police she only . agreed to make the smuggling trip because her children in England were . being threatened. If . the four are found guilty, they will be transferred to the notorious . Kerobokan jail, or Hotel K as it is chillingly known, where up to 11 . prisoners at a time are forced to share single cells. There are . currently 90 inmates awaiting execution at ‘Hotel K.’ | Rachel Dougall, 38, appeared frail and confused as she spoke from hospital where she is being held under guard .
Six-year old daughter is currently being cared for by maid and her gardener husband .
Dougall and three other Britons face death penalty after being arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.6 million . |
34,243 | 614f5c6517f843c84168f030cb275a52fcc09a66 | (CNN) -- More than half a million people a year flock to the Blue Mountains National Park, Australia's most accessible wilderness, to see its impressive peaks and ancient rainforest. But Australia is grappling with a dilemma: how to balance conservation with the need for tourist spending. "Although it looks gorgeous and beautiful it is a park under pressure -- there are a lot of vulnerable species in this national park," said Tara Cameron, a local teacher and President of Blue Mountains Conservation Society. "It's not a completely resilient piece of nature we can do anything with." Maintaining wilderness is an expensive business, and visitor numbers have fallen in recent years. The number of trips including an overnight stay has almost halved in the last decade, from 1.045 million in 1999, according to Tourism Research Australia figures quoted in the Sydney Daily Telegraph. They show an 18 percent drop in one year, from 687,000 in 2008 to 563,000 last year. The New South Wales government now wants to increase both tourist numbers and spending by attracting visitors interested in a more comfortable, less rugged experience. Its tourism strategy has attracted criticism for refusing to rule out development within the park. Mark Jarvis, who runs a hotel in Katoomba, the main tourist town in the Blue Mountains, just an hour and a half from Sydney, said: "We're very concerned because the uniqueness of area revolves around the fact that we sit in between World Heritage parks. "So the fact that they are looking at developing, the fact that if there is a potential to do it, it's not right for this area. "It's not in Sydney's interests to see this area develop -- the attraction for Sydney people to come here is our lack of development." Cameron agreed: "What I see happening in New South Wales is a distraction and diversion away from nature conservation as the primary purpose of parks -- and if we don't focus on that the standards and the state of our parks will slowly decline." However, Randal Walker, chairman of Blue Mountains Tourism, argued that it is possible to develop sustainable tourism without damaging the natural beauty that visitors come to see. "If there was increased interest in development, I think those investors would only do it in terms of: is it sustainable?" said Walker. "Is there going to be a return on investment? And it's going to be in built-up areas where zoning allows it. I don't think there would be any development that would be a negative impact on the environment." "We have to have a sustainable impact on the natural asset, which all tourism operators value and treasure and want to preserve." Penelope Figgis, a government advisor on conservation and tourism, also believes the park has to develop. She said: "Everybody is looking for how we can make national parks relevant into the future. We have very urbanized population who are not as connected with nature. "The New South Wales government wanted to see how we could connect with nature but also at the same time stimulate regional economies through tourism activities related to nature conservation. "I can't think of a better way to persuade somebody to be an advocate for a beautiful and wild area than going there and immersing themselves in that experience," she added. The danger in this quest for something new, is turning nature into a commodity, argued Cameron. "I think national parks and nature is worth more than just being the new thing, the sort of new product," she said. "We have 92 percent of the state of New South Wales that is taken up by people. "Only eight percent is national park. They're the bits that we've put aside for nature -- do we really need to encroach on those as well. "The coffee shop is not an endangered species. Humans are doing very well -- we are looking after ourselves very well. At some point we need to say: 'When is it nature's turn?'" Catriona Davies contributed to this report . | More than 500,000 people visited Blue Mountains last year, but that's a big drop on previous years .
Local authorities want to balance conservation with the need for tourist spending .
A new tourism strategy aims to attract visitors seeking comfort . |
58,435 | a5afc4d86364fc25980e6671138735e905e66875 | (CNN) -- Smarting from their first back-to-back defeats in nearly three years, Barcelona are on the defensive for a change as they approach Tuesday's Champions League semifinal second leg against Chelsea. Barcelona all but surrendered the Spanish league title with Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid that came days after a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the first leg. Barca defender Gerard Pique strongly rejected any suggestion that his club might be in the midst of a more deep-seated crisis, and that the losses could signal the beginning of the end of a glittering era. "A team that has won 13 trophies in three and a half years deserves more credit than that," he said. "Other teams need to win more championships before we start talking like that. We deserve respect." Coach Pep Guardiola was equally bullish in his news conference before the match, even swearing as he defended his decision to play the inexperienced Cristian Tello against Madrid. Guardiola has seen his side dominate possession against both Chelsea and Madrid yet struggle to find a way to goal, with Lionel Messi failing to add to his 63 goals for the season. "I don't know if this is the most important moment of my career as a coach," Guardiola said of the Chelsea game. "But I have always faced these challenges with a lot of optimism as I believe in my players and team." Madrid now lead the Spanish league by seven points with four games remaining, with midfielder Xavi conceding that a fourth straight title "is practically impossible." But Barcelona could still end the season as winners of the Champions League and Copa del Rey. The Catalans have already won the Club World Cup, the European Supercup and the Spanish Supercup. "We'll keep fighting, because we know that it's still in our own hands to have a good season," Xavi said on Barcelona's official website. Chelsea haven't lost in six meetings with Barcelona and won the home leg thanks to a determined defensive display and a Didier Drogba goal just before half time. Guardiola has the option of restoring Pique to his starting lineup to combat Drogba's strength, having sprung a surprise by leaving the Spain international out of both the first leg and the game against Madrid. Pique said he isn't taking it personally. "For me, the important issue isn't whether I play tomorrow," he said. "For me, the main thing is that we win and reach the final. "It is a new situation for me because I'm used to playing and in the last matches I have not had a chance to play. But it's a technical decision of the manager and I have to respect that." Barcelona go into Tuesday's match having won their last 15 home matches in the Champions League. Chelsea, meanwhile, have only won once on the road in Europe this season. But Chelsea have found a unity under interim coach Roberto di Matteo that seemed to be lacking under previous manager Andre Villas Boas, and they are unbeaten in 13 of 14 matches since the Italian took charge. "His message is clearly aimed at team spirit -- fighting," Chelsea striker Fernando Torres told the UEFA website. "You have to fight and then your talent will come through afterwards. When all of that comes together, you'll overcome your opponent most of the time." That was never more evident than in Chelsea's first leg performance. Barcelona had 72% of the possession and six shots on target. Chelsea had one -- Drogba's goal. "Many teams who play Barcelona think that you have to steal the ball from them, but I don't think that's possible," Torres said. "You have to use different weapons against them. If you want to steal the ball, you won't manage it and you'll get tired, and then create more space for your opponent." Barcelona's last Champions League exit in 2010 came in the semifinal at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side, which won the first leg 3-1 before producing an ultra-defensive display at the Camp Nou to win 3-2 on aggregate. But Di Matteo said he won't send his side out to play for a goalless draw. "The tie is half time, it's 50-50. Both teams still have the same chance to go through," he said. "I do think we will have to try to score." | Barcelona head into Champions League semifinal second leg against Chelsea trailing 1-0 .
Pep Guardiola's team have lost back-to-back matches for the first time since May 2009 .
Barca could recall defender Gerard Pique for Tuesday's game .
Chelsea coach Roberto di Matteo insists his team will try to score . |
212,372 | 9f029092fc00073e7b115021ed8ba6dbda5e4394 | British businessman Paul Dunham, 59 (pictured) has been jailed for four years over a £1m fraud . A retired British businessman who took an overdose with his wife to try and avoid extradition to the U.S. over a £1million fraud has been jailed for four years. Paul Dunham, 59, and his wife Sandra, 58, used fraudulent expense claims to pay for a time share in Barbados, luxury bedding for their home, a dog sofa and other personal expenses, the US authorities said. The pair had been extradited in May last year, after losing a High Court battle against standing trial in the U.S. over fraud charges relating to Mr Dunham's company, Pace. Their extradition came days after they attempted to take their own lives at their Northampton home. Mr Dunham has now been sentenced for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one of money laundering over the scheme. Michael Evans, Mr Dunham's solicitor, said the defendant would not seek repatriation to the UK, so he can serve his sentence near to his family. He added that 11 other charges were dismissed against him at the Maryland District Court in Greenbelt as part of a plea deal. Mr Evans said: 'The US prosecutors have agreed that they will not attempt to block Paul's repatriation to the UK and I will now work with the Ministry of Justice to facilitate his return to serve his sentence in the UK, near to his wife and grandchildren. I look forward to his safe return to the UK.' A Justice Department spokeswoman said that a U.S. district judge Paul W Grimm today sentenced Dunham to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The authorities told how the defendants had worked for Pace Worldwide, located at various times in Maryland and North Carolina, and had a subsidiary in the United Kingdom named Pace Europe Ltd. Pace produced parts for the repair and reworking of electronics for the military and others. Mr Dunham held a number of executive positions there, including president and chief operating officer. Mrs Dunham was initially hired to work for the European subsidiary in the accounts department, and eventually became the director of sales and marketing for Pace Worldwide. Mr Dunham and his wife Sandra (right) used fraudulent expenses claims to pay for a time share in Barbados, along with luxury bedding for their home, a dog sofa and other personal expenses, the US authorities said . The Dunhams moved from the UK to Maryland then North Carolina, and were provided with corporate credit cards. Between 2002 and 2009, they fraudulently charged personal expenses to their corporate credit cards and submitted vouchers to Pace for reimbursement that falsely described the expenditures as business expenses, the authorities said. For example, Mr Dunham represented that $3,007 (£1,900) had been spent on meals during business meetings, when in fact the money was spent on luxury bedding for his North Carolina residence. Mrs Dunham also sought reimbursement for $8,397 (£5,330) which she represented as expenses incurred to cancel a holiday due to a business meeting. These expenses were actually mortgage payments the couple made on two separate time share units they had bought in Barbados. The paid were extradited to the U.S in May last year, days after they attempted to take their own lives at their Northampton home . Other personal expenses which were falsely described as business expenditures included personal legal fees, expensive furniture, a domed pet residence and a dog sofa. The couple also fraudulently billed Pace Europe Ltd for business expenses already paid by Pace Worldwide, obtaining duplicate reimbursements, the authorities said. In addition, a substantial portion of the scheme involved Mr Dunham abusing a private position of trust to manage and direct others, including his secretary, in the execution of the scheme. Moreover, he repeatedly forged receipts and invoices to create the false appearance that they were for business, rather than personal expenses. Between 2002 and 2009, they fraudulently charged personal expenses to their corporate credit cards and submitted vouchers to Pace for reimbursement, U.S. authorities said . As a result of the lengthy scheme, one million dollars (£635,500) in actual losses were incurred. The couple have agreed to forfeit and pay restitution of that amount, the statement said. Mr Dunham was originally indicted on 13 counts of fraud and money laundering by a grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, in December 2011. Mrs Dunham was accused of eight counts of fraud for allegedly aiding and abetting him. In April, they lost a high court battle against extradition. The next month, they were taken to Northampton General Hospital after taking a drug overdose the night before they were due to hand themselves in to police and in turn to U.S. marshals. Journalists due to take a statement outside their home alerted police when the couple did not answer the door. House: The Dunhams were found by police officers at their detached home in Northampton in May . Senior District Judge Howard Riddle at Westminster Magistrates' Court concluded that they had deliberately taken an overdose to avoid or delay extradition. Later the couple, from Northampton, were handed over to U.S. marshals at Heathrow by officers from the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit. They then pleaded guilty in December last year. Last week, Mrs Dunham was sentenced to two months imprisonment with credit for time already served in custody, with the judge ordering she serve the remaining 18 days under home detention. Gary Procter and Deborah Boardman, the couple's US defence attorneys, said after today's hearing that the couple had been through an 'extraordinary ordeal' over the past five years. 'We are disappointed that Paul will have to spend additional time in prison before he is reunited with his family and friends in the UK, but he can finally see light at the end of this long, dark tunnel,' they said in a statement. 'As for Sandra, we are very pleased that she will be returning to the UK in a couple weeks where she will await Paul's return.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Paul Dunham and wife Sandra claimed false expenses from company Pace .
Used money to buy time share in Barbados, luxury bedding and a dog sofa .
Northampton couple extradited to U.S in May, days after attempting suicide .
Dunham, 59, jailed for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering .
11 other charges dismissed at Maryland District Court as part of plea deal . |
182,103 | 77c658e457d22361d049c895695e926822005ffe | Google has asked the High Court to throw out former Formula One boss Max Mosley's claim for damages over 'sex orgy' pictures as a judge admitted awarding compensation would be 'difficult' Google has asked the High Court to throw out former Formula One boss Max Mosley's claim for damages over 'sex orgy' pictures as a judge admitted awarding compensation would be 'difficult'. Mosley, 74, is seeking damages from Google UK and parent company Google Inc, and an injunction banning the publication of the photographs on the search engine. He has brought a claim against US-based Google Inc and Google UK under the Data Protection Act and against Google Inc for misuse of private information. However, Google’s lawyers say that his case is unsustainable in fact and law and should be struck out. They also argue that permission to serve the claim on Google Inc outside the jurisdiction of the court should be set aside. The litigation follows Mosley’s 2008 privacy victory against the now-defunct News Of The World newspaper when he won £60,000 compensation after it accused him of taking part in a 'sick Nazi orgy' with five prostitutes. Mosley, the son of the 1930s Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, did not dispute taking part in the sadomasochistic roleplay at a rented Chelsea basement flat, but said it was consensual and private, with no Nazi overtones. He said that his life had been devastated by the March 2008 expose and by the newspaper putting secretly-filmed footage on its website, which attracted at least 3.5 million hits. Today, Mosley continued his battle against Google in London’s High Court, but Mr Justice Mitting said damages ‘may simply not be available’ to him. However, the judge said some form of injunction banning the images could be ‘much less problematic’. Google’s counsel, Antony White QC, said today that the threshold test was whether a person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, taking into account all the circumstances of the case. Scroll down for video . 'There can be few privacy claims which relate to material which has been quite so widely publicised over so many years as the images which are the subject of this claim,' he told Mr Justice Mitting. He said that, shortly after the expose, Mr Justice Eady refused Mosley a temporary injunction against News Group Newspapers (NGN), saying that he no longer had any reasonable expectation of privacy and, even if he had, the 'dam has effectively burst' and an order would be futile. During the damages trial, Mr Justice Eady ruled that the newspaper article was not in the public interest. Mosley, 74, is seeking damages from Google UK (pictured) and parent company Google Inc, and an injunction banning the publication of the photographs on the search engine . He said Mosley 'had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to sexual activities (albeit unconventional) carried on between consenting adults on private property.' But he branded the former President of the motoring organisation the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile 'reckless and almost self destructive' and 'the author of his own misfortune.' After the trial, the judge did grant a permanent injunction against NGN, preventing re-publication, on the basis that it should not be entitled to profit from its own wrongdoing, but this did not prohibit other parties outside England and Wales from using images already in the public domain. 'The images, including the 95-second video, have now been continuously available online for over six years and have in all likelihood been viewed by millions of people around the world,' said Mr White. “There is no previous successful claim for misuse of private information which relates to material which has been so widely disseminated and which is so well-known. 'If the claimant had lost his reasonable expectation of privacy back in April 2008, within days of publication, it is clear that six years on he cannot have any reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the images.' Today, Mosley continued his battle against Google in London’s High Court, but Mr Justice Mitting said damages ‘may simply not be available’ to him . Mr White said that, notwithstanding this, Google Inc had used its notice and takedown procedures to block images when specific URLs had been provided because, whatever the strict legal position, it had some sympathy for Mosley and wished to avoid a dispute. He described Mosley, who was in court for the hearing, as someone who had remained in the public eye as 'an admirable campaigner for privacy rights'. Mosley has campaigned for privacy since the article was printed, backing pressure group Hacked Off and giving evidence in the Leveson Enquiry. He has also been successful in legal bids to stop Google from directing users to images of the orgy via the French and German courts. Mosley (pictured), who was in court for the hearing, was described as 'an admirable campaigner for privacy rights' by Google's lawyer Antony White . Mr White added that Google Inc, as the operator of Search, was not a 'publisher' of the images for the purposes of a privacy claim and no general obligation to monitor could be imposed on it. Mosley’s lawyers say that Google’s application is misconceived and want it dismissed with a defence filed within 28 days. His counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC, said that although Mosley had pursued third parties who continued to publish in several jurisdictions, the image remained accessible to users of Google Search. Google accepted that links to the images should be removed from its indices, but would only do so after Mosley sent them the precise URL for each image, which meant he was forced to engage in what a Canadian court had described as an 'endless game of "whack-a-mole"''. Mr Tomlinson added that this was despite the fact that, as Google now accepted, it was possible for it to take technical steps to prevent the images being indexed by Google Search in the first place. Faced with 'this lack of co-operation' from Google, Mosley had brought his claim in July last year. Mr Tomlinson added: 'Despite its dominance of the online search market in the UK, Google has consistently sought to avoid appearing before the English courts to defend itself on the merits. 'Whilst accepting that it should take material down - as in the present case - it has consistently refused to use automated technical means to assist individuals. 'The court should dismiss these applications and the defendants should be required to defend themselves at a full trial.' Mr Justice Mitting said he was not bound by Mr Justice Eady’s decision, since it was an interim order, adding he did not ‘see why, even if the fact is public, the photographs should not be subject to continuing restraint’. ‘If you accept as a premise that the possession alone of photographs of an intimate act is itself a breach of privacy and confidentiality, then it seems to me that you are entitled to restrain it, whether or not it is in the public domain,' he added. However, the judge indicated Mosley was unlikely to be able to win any sort of damages from Google. The judge said, ‘That particular remedy may simply not be available to the claimant’. Later he said that ‘the difficult part of Mr Tomlinson’s case is that [damages] part of his case’. But he said ordering some form of injunction appeared ‘much less problematic’. The lawyers mentioned the possibility of ‘fingerprinting’ pictures, which would identify them as being unfit for publication. Mr White conceded it was possible to mark certain pictures in this way and said it was not a difficult exercise for Google to undertake. Mr Justice Mitting appeared to favour this solution, saying it was ‘strongly arguable that there is a difference between something you can’t do anything about and something you can do something easily about’. On a separate issue, Mr White denied that Google was a ‘publisher’ of material, stating search results were created by ‘an algorithmic exercise without human knowledge or involvement’. Quoting an earlier judgement, he said Mosley’s case was ‘impermissibly speculative’. The hearing continues tomorrow when the judge is likely to reserve his decision to a later date. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Mosley, 74, is seeking damages and an injunction over the photographs .
He alleges Google UK and Google Inc breached the Data Protection Act .
Google argues any form of filter on searches could amount to censorship .
Search engine says Mosley's case is unsustainable .
Action follows Mosley's 2008 privacy victory against News Of The World .
He won £60,000 in compensation over report that he took part in sex party .
Judge says today damages 'may simply not be available' to Mosley .
He suggests an injunction banning the images could be 'less problematic' |
101,156 | 0e5c2d3fb98b8e65c50424eb2a20ada93c80fe1d | By . Lizzie Edmonds . PUBLISHED: . 09:25 EST, 15 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:38 EST, 15 October 2013 . A four-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after he was kicked in the head by an untethered horse. Lewis Harrison was with a friend in a playground metres from his home in South Bank, Middlesbrough, on Friday when the unsecured horse kicked out at him. The little boy was rushed to hospital with blood streaming down his head having suffered a serious wound. Injury: Lewis Harrison, four, was playing with a friend in a play area in . South Bank, Middlesbrough, when an unsecured horse kicked out at him - leaving him with a wound to the head, pictured . Hospital staff told his mother Melissa Bird - who is now calling for parents to be more aware of the dangers of horses - that her son had been lucky not to be killed. Lewis, who attends Teesville Primary in the town, was playing at South Bank Park when he approached the small white horse and stood behind it. Ms Bird, 28, said: 'I was in the house when his brother Lee came in screaming "mam, it’s Lewis, his head is gashed open". Then I saw him coming towards me, blood streaming down.' She said staff at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where her son was taken, were very concerned about the nature of the injury. She said: 'They said that if he’d been struck an inch away from the spot he was kicked, or if he’d have been kicked straight in the eye socket, he’d have been killed. 'And if he’d been standing directly behind the horse, rather than slightly to the side, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. Dangerous: The family say the horses, pictured, were roaming next to the playground in an open public space often used by children . Appeal: Lewis' mother Ms Bird, pictured next to the playground in South Bank, Middlesbrough, has said more parents should be aware of the dangers of unsecured horses . 'I could have been planning my son’s funeral today.' Ms Bird stressed the horses were walking free on a public open space, always used by children. She . said: 'Lewis knows not to go behind the back legs of a horse, but . that’s when a grown-up is there. But horses shouldn’t be there on a . playing field - it’s as simple as that.' Thankful: Ms Bird said if Lewis had been hit in the eye he would almost certainly have died . A spokesperson for Coast and Country Housing, which manage Redcar and Cleveland Council homes and land, said: 'We deplore the irresponsible actions of horse owners who are allowing their animals to roam in public areas including those where children play. 'We take the issue of stray horses very seriously and have been working with fellow members of the local Joint Equine Group to tackle the problem. 'We would urge members of the public to report stray horses, and any information about their owners, to the police.' A spokesman from Redcar and Cleveland Council said: 'Initially we issue warnings and in the Greater Eston area these warnings have led to more than 300 instances of illegally tethered horses being removed from council land. 'If these warnings go ignored we will consider enforcement action and to date we have instructed bailiffs to impound 15 horses. The council does not tolerate irresponsible owners illegally grazing their horses on its land.' A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said the force 'strongly supports' the Joint Equine Group initiative and remains 'committed to tackling the problem of tethered and untethered animals.' | Lewis Harrison was in a playground near to his home in South Bank, Middlesbrough, when he approached the unsecured animal .
Boy, 4, was rushed to James Cook University Hospital with blood pouring down his face and a head wound after the horse kicked out at him .
Mother Melissa Bird, 28, told her son was lucky to survive and would have been killed if the animal had hit him in the eye socket .
Local council said today it 'does not tolerate irresponsible owners illegally grazing their horses on its land' |
88,834 | fc1ed3cb551eecf906946f57d8262b427e81903f | By . Richard Spillett . This is the grinning face of a sex attacker who terrorised women for more than twenty years. John Williams, 47, was responsible for a spate of at least 14 assaults dating back to 1991 on victims aged from 16 to 50. He has now been given a potentially lifelong sentence by a judge who told him he may never be considered safe enough to be release. Williams, a former concrete mixer, targeted women around Ashford in Kent where he lived with his wife and family. Grinning: John Williams has been given a potentially lifelong sentence for a spate of sex attacks on women and girls in Ashford, Kent over 20 years . Prosecutor Peter Forbes said: 'This was a campaign of sexual assaults against a number of girls and women ranging from 16 to 50 years old. 'Predominantly his victims were walking alone on footpaths in parks or wooded areas when they were attacked from behind and taken to the ground.' Williams admitted 13 sex assaults dating from 1991 to August 2013 and asked for a further 16 offences, including another sexual assault, to be taken into consideration. Canterbury Crown Court heard how he told one 18 year-old victim: 'If you scream, I'll rape you.' Another said the attack changed her from a person 'who would walk without fear, to a prisoner in her own home'. When Williams approached one woman in 1994 he told her he had been offending for months.The prosecutor said the attacks originally related to the theft or attempted thefts of handbags. Mr Forbes said: 'Usually they were done on a lone woman walking in wooded areas during the hours of darkness - and some of the incidents were also sexual.' Some of his victims wept in the public gallery as Judge Adele Williams sent him to jail. He must serve at least seven years behind bars and will only be released if he can convince a parole board is no longer dangerous. The judge said: 'You have carried out a terrifying campaign of sexual attacks. You are a sexual predator and a danger to women. You caused terror in all your victims.' Williams carried out at least one of his attacks on the quiet paths and streets around Singleton Lake in Ashford . Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) heard police missed an opportunity to catch Williams when they failed to take a DNA sample . She added: 'I have no doubt your victims felt terror and have been deeply traumatised. 'Such was the public horror and revulsion of your offences, this calls for a denunciatory sentence. The effect of my sentence is you may never be released.' The court heard that police bungled the hunt for Williams when he was identified as a suspect by one victim - but they failed to take a DNA sample from him in 2012. It was not until a year later that he was caught after he was able to carry out two more attacks on young women. A detective chief inspector and a detective constable were served with gross misconduct notices for the shocking blunder. The court heard that Williams told a psychiatrist he was glad he had been caught and was 'disgusted' with himself. | Former concrete mixer John Williams went after lone women and girls .
He carried out spate of attacks on quiet paths around Ashford, Kent .
Sex attacker, 47, told one teenager: 'If you scream, I'll rape you'
Police missed chance to catch him when the failed to take DNA sample .
Their bungle meant Williams went on to carry out two more attacks .
Williams now jailed for at least seven years and told he may never be freed . |
182,520 | 785bbc47d84a7c39d98939cba03803a4e80d0041 | An 18-year-old man has been charged with viciously assaulting an autistic boy at a Florida house party after sickening video of the attack went viral. Andrew Wheeler allegedly kicked, punched and held a knife to the throat of the intoxicated 16-year-old boy before choking him until he lost consciousness on August 8. Disturbing footage shared on Facebook shows the boy cowering and screaming in pain as partygoers stood around and laughed. WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO - Scroll down for video . Disturbing: Police say footage shows 18-year-old Andrew Wheeler kicking and punching a 16-year-old autistic boy at a Florida house party on August 8 . Horrifying: Video shows the attacker pull the victim by the hair across the floor of the room . Identified: Police say they arrested Andrew Wheeler, 18, after identifying him (pictured) in footage of the attack circulated online . Bad behavior: Video shows partygoers standing around and laughing as the attacker beat the 16-year-old autistic boy . Citing a police report, WBPF reported the boy told police he got drunk and passed out at the Southwest 6th Street home. He said that when he woke up, someone told him to go outside and fight. When he refused, Wheeler was allegedly called to kick him out. The attacker is seen in the video repeatedly punching and kicking the boy, before dragging him by the hair across the room. The boy told Okeechobee City police that Wheeler then followed him out to the street where he choked him until he passed out. Police found the boy lying in the middle of the road just after midnight. He was rushed to hospital with a . concussion and facial and scalp contusions. His condition is unknown. WPTV reported . that an officer at the hospital learned video of the attack was posted . to Facebook. A detective identified Wheeler as . the attacker. Wheeler was arrested on Sunday and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm. A woman also seen in the video, Evadean Lydecker, has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. Lyedecker, reportedly the mother of the boy who threw the party, was at home during the alleged attack. The victim claimed Lyedecker bought the teens alcohol and drank with them. Lydecker denied giving alcohol to minors and witnessing the fight. Sickening: Andrew Wheeler (left) has been charged with viciously beating . a 16-year-old autistic boy (right) at a Florida house party on August 8 . Police . said that Wheeler admitted losing his temper, but told cops he was . called to the house because the victim was pushing and punching another . person. Wheeler, who has previously been convicted of car burglary, multiple thefts, and resisting arrest, claims the victim tried to hit him. The disturbing video has caused outrage online, with a Facebook group and a hashtag, #JusticeForAaron (reportedly the name of the victim) springing up quickly. The people behind the accounts claimed the victim had had been invited to the party under false pretenses so that he could be beaten. They also accused police of a 'cover-up' for failing to arrest Wheeler soon after the alleged attack - a claim police deny. | Andrew Wheeler allegedly beat and choked the boy in front of cheering partygoers on Friday night .
Police found the victim lying in the street outside the home about midnight .
The concussed boy was rushed to hospital with facial and scalp contusions .
Homeowner Evadean Lydecker was allegedly home during the attack and has been charged . |
16,030 | 2d6f5c53854701cd0e4db68352cf7b1acf676c72 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:22 EST, 20 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:23 EST, 20 December 2013 . Whatever one action hero can do, another can do better, it seems. A month after Jean Claude Van Damme appeared in an astonishing advert doing the splits between two lorries at the age of 53, his Expendables 2 co-star Chuck Norris has pulled no punches in his attempt to outdo him. Norris - or at least a CGI version - is shown in a spoof online video straddling the wings of two passenger planes with a human Christmas tree of skydivers balanced on his head. Scroll down for videos . Muscleman merriment: Martial arts star Chuck Norris parodies Jean-Claude Van Damme's epic splits in his Volvo advert in this spoof video wishing everyone a merry Christmas . Citing a passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Walker Texas Ranger says: 'Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, the bird of dawning singeth all night long. So hallow'd and so gracious is the time' Citing a passage from Shakespeare's . Hamlet, the Walker Texas Ranger says over an Enya song: 'Wherein our . Saviour's birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night . long. 'So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.' He finishes with the message: 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.' The . video, by Hungarian animation firm Delov Digital, mimics an . advertisement for Volvo trucks that features 53-year-old Van Damme . performing the splits between two moving vehicles - although he did it . for real. Folding his arms, . the star balances perfectly with his legs in horizontal position between . the trucks which are reversing along what appears to be a runway. Legs of steel: Norris is shown in a spoof online video straddling the wings of two passenger planes with a human Christmas tree of skydivers balanced on his head . Lampoon: The CGI version of Chuck Norris (left) who starred in the 2012 blockbuster The Expendables (right) was created by Hungarian animation firm Delov Digital . The commercial starts with a close-up of the actor talking directly to the camera while standing in a more upright position between the moving vehicles. 'I've had my ups and downs,' he says. 'My fair share of bumpy roads and heavy winds. That's what made me what I am today. 'Now I stand here before you. What you see is a body crafted to perfection. 'A pair of legs engineered to defy the laws of physics and a mindset to master the most epic of splits.' The video mimics this advert for Volvo trucks that features 53-year-old Van Damme performing the splits between two moving vehicles - although he did it for real . The video was used to lampoon Toronto's disgraced Mayor Rob Ford (above) who has been torn apart by the media since admitting smoking crack-cocaine amid allegations of using prostitutes and drink-driving . Jean-Claude then perfectly holds his pose as the camera then pans out to show the stunning stunt. Days . later, the video was used to lampoon Toronto's disgraced Mayor Rob Ford . who has been torn apart by the media since admitting smoking . crack-cocaine amid allegations of using prostitutes, drink-driving and . sexually harassing a female colleague. His face was superimposed on Van Damme's body in the spoof by New York-based visual effects firm Artjail. | Walker Texas Ranger star balances Christmas tree of skydivers on his head .
Cites passage from Hamlet over Enya track then wishes a Merry Christmas .
Lampoons Van Damme after he did splits between two lorries in Volvo ad . |
237,611 | bf877e1f52dbc05d4f56d9905a2c360c6a80dc62 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 2:10 PM on 21st December 2011 . Warrant: Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's top Sunni official, is set to be arrested . Iraq's top Sunni official is set to be arrested on terrorism charges by the country's Shiite-led government. Just a day after the last U.S. troops left Iraq at the end of the eight-year war, the moves signals a sharp escalation in the sectarian tensions that drove the country to the brink of civil war a few years ago. An arrest warrant has been issued for vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi after state-run television aired what it claimed were confessions by alleged terrorists linked to him. Since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-dominated Baath party, the Sunni minority has constantly complained of attempts by the Shiite majority to sideline them. Mr Al-Hashemi is one of the leaders of the Sunni-backed political bloc Iraqiya, which has just suspended its participation in parliament to protest against the control of key posts by Shiite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki . More... Libyan revolutionary Britain 'handed over to Gaddafi's henchmen' sues and could be in line for £1m payout at taxpayers' expense . 'I feel wretched': Woman protester who was stripped and dragged through streets by Egyptian soldiers breaks her silence . Saudi prince invests $300million in Twitter... even though political activists have their accounts blocked in his country . The boycott, headed by Ayad Allawi, was in response to the government's failure to share more powers, particularly authority over the security forces. Iraqiya narrowly won the most seats in last year's parliamentary election, but Mr Allawi was outmanoeuvered by Mr al-Maliki, who kept the premier's post after cobbling together key support from Shiite parties. Withdrawal: Nouri al-Maliki, pictured with Barack Obama last week, is in control of defence and security forces . For over a year now, Mr al-Maliki has effectively controlled the interior and defence ministries, which oversee the police and military, while conflicts between Sunni and Shiite politicians have delayed the appointment of permanent ministers. The dispute is a reminder that the West left behind an Iraq still riven by sectarian division. The last American troops crossed the border into neighbouring Kuwait early on Sunday. Mr al-Hashemi has denied charges he ran a hit squad that killed government officials during the wave of sectarian bloodletting and accused the Shiite-led government of persecution. 'I'm shocked with all these things,' he said. 'I swear by God that al-Hashemi didn't do any sin or anything wrong against any Iraqi whether today or tomorrow and this my pledge to God.' Tensions: An Iraqi man walks past a banner celebrating the withdrawal of U.S. troops, but just a day after their departure the top Sunni official is wanted over terrorism charges . He blamed prime minister Nouri al-Maliki for waging a campaign to 'embarrass' him. He added: 'Al-Maliki is behind the whole issue. The country is in the hands of al-Maliki. All the efforts that had been exerted to reach national reconciliation and to unite Iraq are now gone.' Al-Hashemi is in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region and is not in custody. He thanked Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, for his support and said that Talabani promised he would be responsible for his security. The vice president said security officials had come to his office and house and taken computers and documents. He said the staff working in his office were asked to turn in their badges and told to go home. Al-Hashemi also sought to play down speculation that he would flee the country. He said that while he might leave for a short period of time, he would always return to Iraq. By 2007, the number of sectarian attacks in Iraq - many of them within 30 miles of the capital Baghdad - was virtually at a civil war level. Hundreds are still killed by sectarian groups or insurgents as they seek to exploit the government. As the U.S. military leaves the country, there are fears it could again erupt into civil war, with ethnic unrest spilling over into neighbouring countries including Jordan and Syria. An Iraqiya MP warned that the party could pull its seven ministers out of the coalition government if its demands are not met. In a statement issued on Saturday, Iraqiya criticized the 'unjustified' random arrests conducted by the government's security forces in Sunni areas. | Tariq al-Hashemi wanted after state television aired 'confessions' by alleged terrorists .
Vice-president is accused of running hit squad that killed government officials .
He denies involved and blames prime minister Nouri al-Maliki for campaign of 'embarrassment'
Move comes a day after U.S. troops left Iraq and signals escalation in sectarian tensions .
Sunni minority has complained of attempts by Shiite majority to sideline them since toppling of Saddam . |
44,025 | 7c2916dbb8878b334e772dd9566f065f277d2a21 | By . Christian Gysin . Glassy-eyed and bare-chested as he clutches a drink in a nightclub, England cricketer Gary Ballance looks as though he is celebrating a fantastic victory. But the photograph was taken just hours after England had failed to defeat India on Sunday, leaving followers of the national team lamenting a string of nine successive Test matches without victory – the longest run for more than 20 years. The 24-year-old batsman was later carried out of the bar in Nottingham after telling incredulous fans: ‘I’m not a cricketer tonight. I’m just a drunken b*****d.’ Topless: England batsman Gary Ballance (left) was seen knocking back shots and posing for photos without his top on in Pandora's Box nightclub in Nottingham just hours after drawing a test match against India . The Harrow-educated sports star later shouted that he was ‘absolutely f***ed’. His drunken antics emerged after photographs surfaced of England footballers larking about with champagne and cigars after their failure to win a game in the World Cup finals in Brazil. Goalkeeper Joe Hart was pictured apparently spitting drink into the mouth of Arsenal’s midfield star Jack Wilshere who was also seen smoking a cigarette and cigar in a Las Vegas pool. With pundits and fans still discussing how far England have fallen – and why – in both football and cricket, it seems that some of our top players are rather less concerned. Ballance – who had a fine innings in the game, scoring 71 runs – was joined in Nottingham’s Pandora’s Box club on Sunday after close of play at Trent Bridge by teammates Joe Root, Jimmy Anderson and Liam Plunkett. Off the field antics: Other people inside the club said they heard the Yorkshire player shouting: 'I'm not a cricketer tonight, I'm just a drunken b*****d' On the pitch: Ballance scored 71 in the first innings of the match at Trent Bridge which ended in a draw . It was reported that Ballance bought . large vodkas for a group of girls and tipped the bar staff £20 – and put . on a drunken dancing display for punters who watched him knocking back . drinks until closing time. ‘They had to carry him out at the end of the night,’ said one witness. ‘He was standing outside with his top off screaming “England! England! England!’’’ His behaviour was all the more surprising because England have to start another five-day Test match against India this morning. The players had been given permission to go out on Sunday night ahead of a rest day on Monday. But his boisterous ‘re-fuelling’ will have angered many cricket fans who are desperately hoping that England can end their winless streak when the Second Test starts at Lord’s today. Senior figures in the England and Wales Cricket Board will also be unimpressed, as they do not need yet another headache. Bowler Anderson is facing a ban from Test cricket after being charged by cricket chiefs with pushing India player Ravindra Jadeja. Last night England team coach Peter Moores appeared to be taking a lenient approach to Ballance – at least in public. No repercussions: The ECB, cricket's governing body, issued a statement saying they were aware Ballance had been out drinking, but said he would not face any disciplinary action because he hadn't broken any curfews . England's finest: The pictures of the cricketer emerged just days after footballer Jack Wilshire was caught smoking in a Las Vegas swimming pool. He went on holiday with friends after a dismal World Cup performance . Mouth-to-mouth: He was also seen messing with goalkeeper Joe Hart, surrounded by bikini-clad women . Venue: Witnesses said Ballance had to be carried from Pandora's Box in Nottingham at the end of the night . He said: ‘As the players had been released at the end of the first Test and were not due to meet up to begin preparations for the second Test until Monday evening, and there were no suggestions of impropriety, there is no need for any disciplinary action. I will however be reminding all players of their responsibilities to uphold the best possible image for England cricket.’ Moores’ apparent leniency follows that of team captain Alastair Cook who last month defended players Joe Root and Sam Robson after they were spotted stumbling out of a London nightclub. ‘That’s just an age thing,’ said Cook. ‘Having a night out with a few of the boys is fine.’ As the England management team were looking after the public fall-out from the episode, there was no comment from Ballance last night. | The batsman was pictured holding up a drink in Pandora's Box, Nottingham .
Was heard shouting: 'I'm not a cricketer tonight. I'm just a drunken b*****d'
Witnesses said he was knocking back shots and buying drinks for others .
Is then said to have been carried from the bar at the end of the evening .
Scored 71 in the first innings of the test against India which ended in a draw . |
111,320 | 1b8dcd402ec95b77e1dbd1588aac39d2ab700de7 | By . Lawrence Booth . Follow @@the_topspin . In Monday’s Sportsmail, Ed Hawkins revealed two approaches made by a former Test star to Brendon McCullum in 2008 to fix matches – one before the inaugural IPL, and one during New Zealand’s tour of England. McCullum turned them down, and later provided testimony to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit – testimony which Hawkins got hold of. The immediate reaction of New Zealand Cricket was to point out that McCullum was not being investigated (Hawkins never said he was) and to express ‘dismay’ that his testimony had been leaked. Pointing out an approach: Brendon McCullum gave a testimony to the ICC after being asked to fix matches . In a perfect world, NZC would have a . point. It’s a world in which every player who has been asked to do . something illegal reports the approach to the authorities, immediately. It’s a world in which those authorities can be trusted to bring the . guilty to account. And it’s a world in which no-one within cricket’s . internecine corridors of power has an axe to grind. It’s also a world that doesn’t exist. And it’s why some journalists will continue to treat these stories like forbidden fruit. Leaks happen for a reason. Those who run the game should spend less time outraging about the morality of leakage, and more time fretting about the fact that others feel the need to leak in the first place. The story of cricket’s so-called fight against corruption has been an underwhelming one, in which the main blows have been struck by the Indian police or the media. The ACSU have precious little to shout about: Kenya’s Maurice Odumbe, Marlon Samuels of West Indies, and – thanks to the work of its English branch – Mervyn Westfield and Danish Kaneria of Essex. Yet to judge not only by vast swathes of anecdotal evidence over the years, but also by the recent revelations about the number of people being monitored by the ACSU, you wonder what else we don’t know about. It’s true that the ACSU’s legal powers are limited. But it’s equally true that they are yet to convince the cricket community that they have the manpower, the expertise or even the will to deal with the problem. The game’s attempts to handle corruption took a bizarre twist recently when it was claimed that the ACSU would be reformed, reporting no longer to the ICC’s chief executive Dave Richardson, but to the ICC’s new chairman. As things stand, this chairman will be N Srinivasan, who has been temporarily incapacitated as president of the BCCI by India’s Supreme Court because of an investigation into – that’s right – corruption at the Indian Premier League. This, then, is the man who may soon be heading up cricket’s battle against corruption. So you’ll forgive the media – and the public – if their faith in cricket’s capacity to police itself is on the shaky side of sceptical. It’s in these circumstances that leaks occur. And, in the long run, these leaks will help paint a clearer picture, which is the least the public deserve. Throwing matches: Lou Vincent has admitted being involved in plans to fix games . For more cricket-related snippets, feel free to go to twitter.com/the_topspin . But the public deserve more than that. They deserve to know that the game they’re paying to watch contains players who actually care about its legitimacy. I’m not talking here about the match-fixers themselves; they’re beyond the point of caring. No, it’s a question of persuading those who have been approached by the Lou Vincents of the game that they owe cricket a duty of care by exposing them straightaway. For that reason, we can’t heap all the blame on the administrators, who are hamstrung by a variety of factors ranging from legal impotence to downright incompetence. It is the players who must take ownership. Last week I met Mal Loye, who spoke at length about Vincent’s attempts to corrupt him before a Twenty20 game for Lancashire in 2008. Loye is one of cricket’s good guys, who found himself suddenly thrown in at the deep end and gasping for breath. One of the ggod guys: Mal Loye was appraoached by Vincent when they were team-mates at Lancashire . Six years ago, it had not been drummed into players that non-disclosure of an illegal approach was in itself an offence. Loye regrets keeping the approach to himself, and hopes others won’t make the mistake he made. Neither would they have any excuse for doing so: where the ACSU can claim some credit is in educating players about the modus operandi of the bookies. In 2014, everyone knows the score. In the meantime, the administrators might be advised to focus on ridding the game of corruption, not bemoaning the work of journalists who have lost faith in their capacity to do so. It’s fashionable right now to bash everything the ECB do, and in some instances they deserve it. But it was interesting to note the selection of Michael Carberry in England’s one-day squad for the five-match series starting on Thursday against Sri Lanka. Carberry was dropped from the 50-over side after averaging 21, with a strike-rate of 62, during five ODIs last September. In March, he told the Guardian that ‘I seem to have been left out for some unknown reason. I don’t think it’s a cricket reason because my one-day stats speak for themselves over the last few seasons’. Asked whether he had heard from the selectors since returning from the Ashes in Australia, he replied: ‘No. Nothing – which is disappointing. But it’s the way they tend to do things.’ Now he’s been picked again. Maybe he feels he owes England a better return than he managed first time round. Stats life: Michael Carberry is back in the England 50-over team despite an average recent return . The ability of teams in the IPL to chase down almost any total has done little to quell the fears of those who believe boundaries have been brought too far in-field. To quote one concerned party: ‘As we looked down on the ground for the press box, the playing area seemed very small. It would be interesting to know when this habit of making off much of the ground with a circle first was accepted […] It seems wrong to me…’ Those words were written by Jack Fingleton, in his 1949 book Brightly Fades the Don. He was talking about the Lord’s Ashes Test of the previous summer. We like to imagine that cricketing gripes are new – and all the more outrageous for being so. In fact, the same grumbles have been around for years. It’s just that no one ever does anything about them. Mushtaq Ahmed, until recently the ECB’s spin-bowling coach, has taken up a similar role with the Pakistan team, and immediately told www.PakPassion.net that his aim was to ‘find and develop mystery spinners’. We wish him luck – and wonder why English cricket didn’t seem such fertile ground for him to do the same thing during his five-and-a-bit years in this country. With Matt Prior fighting off an achilles injury and the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s fast approaching, the gloves are off for the fight to, er, put the gloves back on. The field is wide open, and Steve Davies looked in good nick while helping to shepherd Surrey to their first Championship win of the season against Gloucestershire at The Oval last week. So it’s a shame that Davies has asked to be relieved of his wicket-keeping duties while he rediscovers his form with the bat. There may never be a better chance to grab those Test gloves. The (keeping) gloves are off: Steven Davies (left) has given up stumping to rediscover his form with the bat . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Authorities should spend less time plugging leaks and more on corruption .
Brendon McCullum and Mal Loye both been approached to fix matches .
Lou Vincent admitted trying to fix matches .
Michael Carberry has been given another ODI chance by England .
Why didn't Mushtaq Ahmed find more mystery spinners in England?
Steven Davies should have given himself a chance of replacing Matt Prior . |
272,793 | ed4d61c6fa86f4f1c4324e07d004d5c46de2d8a6 | Britain has threatened an immediate break in intelligence sharing with Germany if it continues to insist on airing secret GCHQ documents in public, it has been claimed. A German magazine claims a crisis meeting was held in Berlin this week to discuss the biggest rift between secret services since the end of WW2. America, which operates closely with Britain, has threatened the same boycott which will essentially strip Germany of the protection of the two best intelligence agencies in the world. The head of the intelligence service, Gerhard Schindler (pictured) had met with German politicians to ask them to drop the demand for British intelligence documents . Focus Magazine, known for its strong links with the BND, the German equivalent of MI6, reveals details of the 'deep partnership crisis' in its forthcoming issue to be published on Saturday. A senior security source told the magazine: 'Without the information supplied by Anglo-Americans, we will be blind.' It would mean high-grade information on jihadists, their movements and terror plans as discovered by London and Washington and directly involving Germany, would cease immediately to be passed on. The upheaval has been caused by left-wing and green politicians still fuming over the spying activities carried out in Germany by America's National Security Agency, which allegedly involved the eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal mobile telephone. It hinges on a German government request asking Britain to release details of secret operations in Germany to its committee currently probing NSA and other foreign spy agency activities in the country. Phone hacked: The affair risks further straining ties with Washington which were damaged by revelations last year of mass surveillance of German citizens by the U.S. National Security Agency, which included monitoring Chancellor Angela Merkel's (pictured) mobile phone . The move was forced by politicians of the hard-left Die Linke and the environmentalist Green parties, and the official Berlin letter seeking documents was sent to British intelligence a little over a week ago. Both Britain and America are fuming. Both have refused to send any of the requested files to Germany. Included among them was a demand for information about a 2013 operation handled by both countries - and in co-operation with the BND - which was, and remains, top secret but was known to involve a massive surveillance programme on suspected Islamic terrorists across Europe. Britain fears a 'big debate' in the German parliament which would lay open secret sources and intelligence gathering techniques. 'Never has a friendly nation been asked to divulge its secrets in this way,' said one BND source. 'It is outrageous and we completely understand the fury that this has unleashed in Whitehall. 'The British have a horror of secrets being revealed. If they and the Americans withdraw co-operation, it would be catastrophic for Germany. The rift between the secret services came after a German government request asking Britain to release details of secret operations in Germany to its committee currently probing into the NSA affair (pictured) and other foreign spy agency activities in the country . It would brand Germany among the community of nations as a country not to be trusted to share intelligence aimed at combatting terror and spying by hostile governments. It would make us a pariah.' Gerhard Schindler, the president of the BND, met politicians concerned with the enquiry on Wednesday to ask them to drop the demand for British intelligence documents. Chancellor Merkel is known to be angry herself at the high-handed stance of the left and greens but is treading a fine line in a country where many citizens remain outraged at the extent of foreign intelligence snooping in their country. Britain has no intention of releasing one single classified document to the Germans but is threatening the breach nonethless should the demand for them continue. German confirmed the meeting on Wednesday between Schindler and lawmakers but had no further comment on 'security matters.' | A crisis meeting was held in Berlin to discuss the rift between secret services .
Both Britain and America have threatened to stop sharing their intelligence .
Comes after Germany demanded UK release details of secret operations .
Britain fears secret sources and intelligence gathering could be revealed .
Head of German intelligence now calling on government to drop the demand . |
148,779 | 4c634a7eb46f75d994bc8187ee76ffe11c1bb7f5 | Incredible footage has emerged from a siege in south-east Queensland after a man fled in a stolen Channel Seven news car and crashed into a service station, before surrendering to police. Police were called when neighbours heard a gunshot at a Noosa Heads home about 4.30am on Thursday. When they arrived they heard a man making threats to people inside. The man then made a break for it on a motorbike, police say, before allegedly stealing the news car. Seven News cameraman Peter Steer, who was on his way to cover the incident, said a man on a motorbike stopped him and pulled out a weapon - turning it on him. Scroll down for video . This is the moment the gunman surrenders his weapon after crashing into a gas cylinder . Minutes earlier he confronted cameraman Peter Steer with a gun and then broke down crying . The moment a man takes off in a stolen Channel Seven car was captured by the cameraman . Emergency services crew at the scene of a a gas leak after a gunman stole a Channel Seven news vehicle and crashed it at a Queensland petrol station . Seven News cameraman Peter Steer, who was on his way to cover the siege, said a man on a motorbike stopped him and said 'I'm the shooter' 'He got off his bike and approached me and said "I've got a story for you". I said "Well mate, you better hurry because I'm going to a shooting", and he said "Mate, I'm the shooter."' Seconds later the man - dressed in a black leather jacket and sporting a thick, grey beard - handed his pistol to Steer and said he wanted to hand himself to police before breaking down in tears. But before he knew it, the man had taken back the pistol and aimed it back at Steer before taking off in his car, which can also be seen in the Seven footage. Steer recounted the experience to Seven News on Thursday evening and told the program: 'It was unexpected, up until that point I'd felt fairly secure knowing that the police I'd called were on their way.' 'When I saw him reach for the passenger side of the vehicle and reach for the gun ... it did sort of ring a few alarm bells in my head.' From there Steer kept the camera rolling out of instinct, saying he weighed up whether he would keep shooting or or get out of the line of fire. Steer then managed to track him down and capture footage at a Eumundi service station where he crashed into a petrol tank and is cornered by police. Officers can be seen pointing their guns toward the man, who they specifically instruct to 'move away' and 'get back'. 'I got to a little town called 'mundi and a chap on a Harley (Davidson) sort of pulled me over, I thought there might have been something wrong with my car,' Mr Steer told Sunrise. Witness Cavan Herron, 33, from Doonan, said the man looked like a 'bikie'. The man is surrounded by police, who point their weapons towards him and shout for him to get down . Police have seize a gun at a petrol station near Noosa Heads following a car crash . Police arrested the man at the Eumundi service station (pictured) after he led them on a chase in the car . Mr Steer pictured on Thursday morning back on the job after he was car-jacked . Mr Herron, a welder, was driving to work when he passed the scene unfolding between the cameraman and the gunman but he thought they were filming a TV show. 'As I was driving past I noticed there was a cameraman and a really quite flash nice-looking bike,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'I thought they were about to start filming or something, I thought it was a documentary, then I didn't think anything of it. 'He looked like a bikie, he had a big beard and everything, just like a standard bikie basically.' Police lost track of the man in the car, but a short time later they were called to a gas leak at a nearby service station. Officers found the stolen car had crashed there and arrested the man. He was taken to hospital and spent time in the emergency department, before being discharged into police custody. A woman injured at the home was also taken to hospital and is in a stable condition. She is expected to be released this afternoon. Police were called when neighbours heard a gunshot in a residential street in Noosa Heads (pictured) | Queensland siege ended after man fled in stolen Channel Seven news car .
Police arrested the man at the Eumundi service station after car chase .
Earlier, police were called to a Noosa Heads home after gunshot was heard .
A woman injured at the home has been taken to hospital .
Witness Cavan Herron, 33, from Doonan, said the man looked like a 'bikie' |
261,472 | dea139eb9f58c23e018f1668276bf91df16b0c0b | (CNN) -- The office of House Speaker John Boehner slammed comments by an architect of Obamacare who said the health care law was sold to the American public with misleading messaging, arguing Jonathan Gruber's remarks confirm the ill-will behind passage of the law. "If there was ever any doubt that ObamaCare was rammed through Congress with a heavy dose of arrogance, duplicity, and contempt for the will of the American people, recent comments made by ... Jonathan Gruber, put that to rest," Boehner's office said said in a statement Thursday. Videos recently emerged showing Gruber suggesting that the administration exploited the "the stupidity of the American voter" and the "lack of economic understanding of the American voter" in pushing the Affordable Care Act. Third video emerges of Obamacare architect insulting voters . In the statement, Boehner's office said, "the American people are anything but 'stupid.' They're the ones bearing the consequences of the president's health care law and, unsurprisingly, they continue to oppose it." White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest pushed back against Gruber's comments in a press briefing in Myanmar, saying, "I disagree vigorously with" the assessment that the White House passed the law by taking advantage of what they saw as the voters' lack of intelligence. "This was a very difficult undertaking but ultimately this is a law that has had significant benefits for millions of people," he said, adding that Republicans are the ones "who have been less than forthright and transparent about what their proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act would do in terms of the choices are available to middle class families." For his part, Gruber said Tuesday on MSNBC that he "was speaking off the cuff" and "spoke inappropriately." "And I regret making those comments," he added. Boehner's next challenge . CNN's Jake Tapper and Jim Acosta contributed to this report. | John Boehner's office responded to comments by an Obamacare architect's comments .
The architect, Jonathan Gruber, said the law was passed exploiting voters 'stupidity' |
232,374 | b8e3a8db0011bd21eb5b54b5660947655eb74cc1 | By . Becky Evans . PUBLISHED: . 13:32 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:44 EST, 22 August 2013 . Residents of an idyllic country village have been so overwhelmed with an invasion of flies that they are considering moving. Villagers in Finghall, North Yorkshire, say they have been driven to tears by the large number of flies entering their homes. The infestation is so bad that one resident counted 40 flies in his kitchen and 30 in his dining room, while another local said 150 were found on fly paper that had only been hung three days earlier. Plague: Some villagers in Finghall, North Yorkshire, are threatening to move because of the fly infestation. Left: Tom Kirk-Alton, four, holding flypaper from his kitchen and Ray Robson with fly paper from his garage . Industrial fly catching bags are full and environmental health have been contacted over the issue . Local poultry farms have been blamed by some for the problem and the council's environmental health team have now been contacted. At a residents' meeting held to discuss the issue locals said they were keeping doors and windows closed constantly, even on the hottest days. One villager said a blind relative had inadvertently eaten flies which had landed on his food, while a holiday cottage owner said recent visitors would not return to the village because of the problem. Margaret Moffatt, who lives in the village with husband Brian, said: 'Apparently one villager was told that he was "silly complaining and what did he expect when living in the rural area surrounded by farms". 'My family has lived in the rural areas far more remote than Finghall and has never experienced the problems we have now.' Idyllic: The problem in picturesque Finghall (pictured) is being blamed by some on local poultry farms . Problem: Fly paper (left) and industrial catchers (right) are filled with the insects . Another resident said: 'My wife has given me an ultimatum that we should move out of this area to somewhere they don't have these damn flies.' Some residents blamed nearby poultry farms for the outbreak, which they said had occurred every summer for more than a decade. Richmondshire District Council has been notified about the issue and an officer from the environmental health unit left fly papers with residents. They will be collected after a week and then tested. A spokeswoman said: 'We have spoken to residents and will be investigating.' Local mechanic Ray Robson, 46, said: 'The village have been up in arms about it. Up in arms: Mechanic Ray Robson said 200 flies covered a car he was working on recently . 'There are a lot more flies than normal and where we sit in our bait room we are getting loads of them buzzing around our face. 'When I was working on a car the other day there were around 200 flies covering the car. I don't know whether it is weather related.' Keith Loadman, Richmondshire district councillor, said the problem must be addressed. He said: 'I have known about it for a couple of years - it is so serious in the village that we can't afford to be fobbed off.' Ian Hainsworth, chair of the parish council, added: 'This will not be allowed to drop. 'We will take it forward as forcibly as we can.' | The infestation has reduced villages in Finghall, North Yorkshire, to tears .
Environmental health officers will collect and test fly paper left in village .
Some residents blame local poultry farms for attracting the insects . |
20,338 | 39b362acb177da37ae7023ddd021cb2c96906fe5 | Fighting erupted Tuesday in an autonomous region of Tajikistan after central government forces moved in on a former opposition warlord believed to be behind the killing of a top security general. At least 12 soldiers and 30 opposition fighters were killed, said a statement from Tajikistan's security service. It said the military operation was continuing. Residents described continuous gunfire in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakshan region, which borders Afghanistan. They said they believed the number of casualties was higher than the official toll. Gorno-Badakshan was cut off Tuesday after communication lines, including cell phones and internet service, was severed. The violence stemmed from the death of Maj. Gen. Abdullo Nazarov, head of the regional branch of the State Committee on National Security, a successor to the Soviet KGB. Nazarov's car was stopped by a group of unidentified people, according to Ria-Novosti, a Russian state-run news service. Nazarov was pulled out of the car and stabbed several times. He died on the way to hospital, Ria-Novosti said. Police arrested two suspects but were still seeking Tolib Ayombekov, the suspected leader of a smuggling ring of tobacco, precious jewels, and drugs, said the Central Asian News Service. The news agency said Ayombekov refused to surrender to police and instigated the attack against government forces. Tajikistan gained independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 but has been troubled ever since by bloody war, widespread corruption and poverty. Tensions remain high between the Tajik government in Dushanbe and the people of Gorno-Badakshan, who are of the Pamiri ethnic minority. The region was a stronghold of Islamist rebels during a five-year civil war in the 1990s that claimed thousand of lives. The war also divided people along ethnic and regional lines, and the Pamiris, by and large, sided with the opposition. A United Nations-brokered peace plan left President Emomali Rakhmon's secular government in place but gave some of his Islamist opponents official jobs. But Rakhmon, backed by Moscow, has sought to consolidate power and stamp out remnants of radical Islam. Khorog residents said they received no warning of Tuesday's fighting. People panicked as gunfire rang out. Journalist Mirzojalol Shohjamolov said a group of residents gathered in front of Khorog Square, near the government building, with signs that said: "Stop military actions in Khorog." | Government forces clashed with opposition fighters in Gorno-Badakshan region .
At least 42 people were killed .
Tensions have run high in the area; ethnic Pamiris have been at odds with the government .
The region was a stronghold for Islamist rebels during a bloody civil war . |
41,976 | 76606f1c0fdf4f8876064193c7e30a4a182e1103 | By . Erin Clements . Mischa Barton's enviable wardrobe on The O.C. was a prime reason to tune in throughout the Fox drama's four seasons, and now the actress says her connections were responsible for the designer items seen on the show. In a new interview with Elle, the 28-year-old, who played affluent teen Marissa Cooper, credits her New York upbringing with her fashion savvy from a young age. 'Coming from New York, I was friends with a lot of the fashion designers. I grew up in a world around models and supermodels and designers and fashion. In LA, they were very much like, "What is that? I don't really know what that is,"' she says. Small-screen style: Mischa Barton (pictured wearing a Teca By Helo Rocha dress in April 2014) takes credit for her character's impeccable wardrobe on The O.C., in a new interview with Elle . She added: 'I was like, if there was one benefit to having a character like Marissa Cooper [it] is that she has access to things. It's that kind of access that made her fascinating to watch. Watching people in the bubble is what people get so fascinated by. I mean that is fully what The O.C. was about: There's the people in the bubble, and then there's the regular, old people around them. Marissa was definitely in the bubble.' Miss Barton reveals that she had trouble getting into character, but found a connection to Marissa when she wore her impeccable ensembles - many of which she chose. Fashion heavyweight: Miss Barton said she began asking Chanel to send items, such as this dress Marissa wore to the prom in a 2006 episode . Well connected: 'Coming from New York, I was friends with a lot of the fashion designers,' Miss Barton (pictured here wearing a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress in a 2003 episode of The O.C.) said . 'The costume designer went out and got all that stuff and we built it, but it was definitely something I pushed. I would pick the outfits and then go to great lengths for it,' she says. In fact, she says the says the show's young cast would have looked quite different if she hadn't gotten involved. 'I started getting Chanel to send stuff. I started having these designers send stuff over because I saw the merit in getting that kind of stuff on television,' she said. 'If I had those connections in the fashion world, why not? [The wardrobe department] would totally have been happy just dressing us as regular teenagers, to be honest. Not in a bad way, we would have looked adorable, but we would have been just your average Orange County teenagers. But with my wiling and conniving I was like, "You know what would be super great is if we could get this Chanel dress for this [prom] episode," and it kind of all came together.' Not your average teens: Miss Barton (seen here in a 2005 promo shot for The O.C.) says without her influence, the costume designers would have dressed the cast as regular high schoolers . In 2008, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld presented Miss Barton with the InStyle Germany VIPer award, proclaiming, 'So many girls want to look like Mischa Barton. She is a fashion role model for an entire generation.' Miss Barton has maintained ties with the fashion industry since The O.C. ended in 2007. In 2008, she launched a line of handbags, and in 2012, she opened her own boutique in London, called Mischa's Place. Last year, she opened up about her personal style in an interview with PopSugar, saying, 'I stick to the designers that I love. So, Chloe and Helmut Lang. I've been wearing a lot of the new Lagerfeld stuff.' | The now 28-year-old actress played affluent teen Marissa Cooper on the hit show, which ended in 2007 . |
140,218 | 4151ab11c113760a2bf247d19d30ecb0d8ba9234 | By . David Williams . PUBLISHED: . 18:57 EST, 9 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:59 EST, 9 November 2012 . The body of an unidentified Taliban fighter allegedly murdered by five Royal Marines in Afghanistan may never be found, it emerged last night. A team of forensic scientists and military police – protected by 120 soldiers – has flown to Helmand to investigate the hugely sensitive murder claims. But the remains have still to be discovered and, even if they are, they may never be positively identified because nobody knows who he was. Heat of battle: Fighting in Helmand has pushed the Royal Marines to the limit . Details of the extraordinary search in the warzone have emerged days after the five troops won a court battle to protect their anonymity during their forthcoming trial because of ‘an immediate and real risk’ to their lives from terrorists. The Marines first appeared in court last month. They are accused of murdering a captured Afghan national on or about September 15 last year, and were charged after the discovery of video footage on one of the men’s computers, allegedly showing them discussing what to do with a gravely injured captive. It is the prosecution case that the man – whose name does not appear on any charge sheet – was subsequently murdered. The case has prompted an enormous public backlash with a Facebook campaign attracting over 100,000 supporters and protest marches across Britain demanding the charges be dropped. None of the accused can be identified after Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett this week extended an anonymity order. One protester, former Marine James Grant, 34 – a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan – said the charges against the five were unjust. He said: ‘They were doing their job in incredibly difficult circumstances. Most of our politicians have not been out to Afghanistan and can never imagine what it is like to be at war.’ Hugely sensitive: A team of forensic scientists and military police has been dispatched to Helmand Province (pictured) to investigate the hugely murder claims . Unusually, the charges were brought even though a body has not been found. In a region littered with booby-trap bombs and still infested with insurgents, it is the investigators’ task to search for it. Tribal elders have had to be asked for permission for the search to go ahead and, potentially, a body being exhumed. There is also the question of how the remains might be positively identified. Although thousands of Afghan males have been biometrically recorded to allow quick identification by troops, the biometric information may not have survived decomposition. In addition, it has now emerged that the five Marines had for several days been fighting the Taliban in a desperate life-or-death struggle, described by one comrade as ‘a daily survival lottery’. The case has focused attention too on the rules of engagement and how Britain applies the law to its servicemen and women operating under the pressures of the battlefield. The Marines were part of a Commando Battle Group in and around Nad-e Ali, a rural area of Helmand that was once the Taliban’s heartland – an area stained with the blood of dozens of UK servicemen. 'Survival lottery': More than 20 troops had died in Helmand - seven of them Marines - in the six months leading up to the alleged killing (file photo) In an area known as Death Valley, their remote checkpoint base had come under fierce attack at least eight times and patrols from it were regularly ambushed. In the six months leading up to the alleged killing last September, more than 20 troops had died in the province, seven of them Marines. The small band of commandos – between 20 and 30 men – felt isolated in their mud-walled checkpoint, and are said to have stockpiled captured Taliban guns and ammunition in case their own ran out. Morale across the Marines was dealt a . further blow with the death of a popular comrade, James Wright, 23, on . August 5 last year when a ten-man patrol was attacked by a force of . around 80 Taliban in the Shpazh Gerebian region. After . four hours the patrol managed to pull back to their base with the help . of air support and mortar fire. As is routine after a patrol, Wright had . taken off his helmet ahead of an operational debrief. It was then that the Taliban attacked again. Wright, a father-to-be, was fatally wounded in the head by a grenade. In . the following days and weeks there were more attacks in Helmand; one . base came under sustained fire for ten successive days. In mid-September . the fanatics mounted another attack on an isolated base, leaving more . than 20 Marines pinned down. It is the aftermath of this attack that is . the focus of the investigations. An . Apache helicopter was called in and was able to end the Taliban . assault. Once the fighting subsided, a gunman was found with severe . wounds and allegedly close to death. The . video footage allegedly shows Marines discussing what to do with him. Several are said to have held a vote. The filming then stops. Their . options were to treat his wounds and ensure his evacuation to Camp . Bastion or take him to their Forward Operating Base for treatment. Last . October the Marines returned home to a heroes’ welcome and, officials . say, it is likely that whatever happened would have remained secret, had . it not been for the arrest of one of the men by civilian police . investigating a completely unrelated matter. As part of that inquiry they seized his laptop, found the footage from the compound, and alerted the military. Investigators have questioned officers and fellow Marines while Afghan interpreters are being traced. The . five Marines – known only as A, B, C, D and E – face a Court Martial . and their initial appearance was behind closed doors in Bulford garrison . on the edge of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | The body of the captive Afghan national allegedly murdered by five Royal Marines may never be found, it has emerged .
Even if the remains are discovered, the identity of the Taliban fighter might never be known .
A team of forensic scientists and military police has flown to Helmand to investigate the hugely sensitive murder claims .
Details emerged after the five troops won a court battle to protect their anonymity during their trial due to risk to their lives from terrorists .
Case has prompted a public backlash and protest marches across Britain demanding the charges against the soldiers be dropped . |
72,334 | cd0fa40b51a0359e15e78099fe85fdd841ceabe5 | (CNN) -- Who would open one of the world's biggest casinos in the depths of a global recession? Big city dreams: Lawrence Ho's business portfolio in Hong Kong and Macau is growing. Answer: Lawrence Ho, the scion of a casino business mogul who has clearly inherited his father's love of a calculated risk. Ho's father Stanley is a man synonymous with the creation of Macau as the world's biggest gambling destination. "Over the past 40 years he has put his thumbprints all over Macau. I think if you look at the major infrastructure projects, whether it's the airport, the ferry terminals, he was involved in building up a lot of those," Lawrence Ho told CNN. But in opening City of Dreams in Macau earlier this year, Ho is trying to carve his own niche and continue to build up his own business empire. "I think gone are the days when you can open a property and 'Bang!' you would steal significant market share from others," he told CNN. "Before we opened we were, like the rest of the world, a little bit wary of the timing, but I think in hindsight the world economies are doing a lot better and Macau has seen its first year-on-year increase in July and August was a booming month. So I think all in all we couldn't be happier." Ho's company, Melco-Crown Entertainment, is independent from his father's huge portfolio of businesses and the multibillion dollar City of Dreams project is a partnership with Australian James Packer, himself the son of a media tycoon. Ho is respectful of his ailing father's achievements and the advantages that the family name has given him, but also the desire it fostered to forge his own success. "The bigger the shadow the more we can feel the underdog syndrome. ... being his son opened many doors, but at the same time I grew up in a very big family with our own issues, but all in all certainly being his son has helped a great deal," he said. There are no worries about interference from the mainland -- "I suspect that China definitely wants [Macau and Hong Kong] to do well" -- and Ho remains positive that Asia will see the quickest recovery from the downturn. "A lot of the Asian countries and economies have handled the [economic] crisis this time a lot better than the Asian financial crisis 10 years ago," he said. "So I think, all in all, Asia has managed to come out of this much quicker than the rest of the world. And really when people are feeling better they travel and they spend more, and you know we are in the business of providing leisure and entertainment." | Son of Stanley Ho, business tycoon who built up former-Portuguese colony of Macau .
Lawrence Ho recently open multi-billion dollar City of Dreams complex in Macau .
Believes he can carve a slice of action from the Asian gambling city . |
155,051 | 546317ff1697df01f0c78c42350ac9a406517ef8 | By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:17 EST, 23 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:28 EST, 23 October 2012 . A schizophrenic mass murderer who believes he is the 'Prince of God' will be executed in Florida tonight after an appeals court lifted a last-minute stay that was based on his mental illness. John Errol Ferguson, 64, will be put to death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison at 6pm on Tuesday, a State Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed. Ferguson has spent more than three decades on death row for eight brutal killings, including those of a teenage couple, in 1977 and 1978. He was originally due to be executed on . October 16, but it was delayed for a state judge to determine whether . Ferguson was mentally competent to be put to death. Life behind bars: John Errol Ferguson, 64, has been on Death Row for 34 years for killing eight people in the 1970s and will be put to death on Tuesday. His lawyers argue that he is mentally ill . After two days of testimony, including that from a panel of psychiatrists appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, the judge agreed Ferguson did understand why he was being executed. But on Saturday, another South Florida judge issued a stay as Ferguson's lawyers continued to argue he is mentally ill and therefore cannot be executed. Victim: He raped and shot Belinda Worley, 17, as she went for ice cream . with her boyfriend in January 1978. Her boyfriend was also shot dead . 'A man who thinks he is the immortal . Prince of God and who believes he is incarcerated because of a Communist . plot quite clearly has no rational understanding of the effect of his . looming execution and the reason for it,' his lawyer, Christopher Handman, said in a statement. Lawyers added it was a 'cruel and unusual punishment' for a mentally ill man. Yet now the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta have lifted the stay, ruling that U.S. Judge Daninel Hurley 'abused' his discretion on Saturday when he issued it. Handman said he was disappointed the stay was lifted even though one of the three Appeals judges was against it. He said he is hopeful the Supreme Court will reverse the decision. 'There is no evidence that Mr. Ferguson has a rational understanding of the reason for, and effect of, his execution,' he said. The lawyers argued that an inmate's awareness of his execution - a standard set in 2007 - is not enough and the inmate must have a 'rational understanding' - a higher standard . than 'awareness'. His execution comes more than three decades after his horrific killing and raping spree in the 1970s. When Ferguson was 21, he stole a deputy's gun and was going to shoot when the deputy . reached for another gun and shot the man four times - including once in . the head. When he left hospital, 'he began to show serious mental . instability, irrational thinking, unexplainable hostility and grossly . impaired intelligence,' his lawyers said. Legal wrangling: The death has been granted after judges ruled he is aware of why he is being executed . John Errol Ferguson was sentenced to death for eight killings in 1977 and 1978, although some investigators believe he killed even more. May 1977: An elderly couple who were in the area for a funeral were found beaten, tied up and shot dead in their motel room. The gun was used in Ferguson's later crimes but he was not charged as there was no other corroborating evidence. July 1977: With three others, Ferguson broke into a house and tied up eight people and shot them in the heads. Livingstone Stocker, 33, Michael Miller, 24, Henry Clayton, 35, John Holmes, 26, Gilbert Williams, 37, and Charles Cesar Stinson, 35, all died. Two survived: Johnnie Hall, 45, and Margaret Wooden, 24. He was convicted of the killings. October 1977: Posing as a police officer, he shot two teenagers during an attempted robbery. They survived. January 1978: Shot and killed Brian Glenfeldt, 17, on his way to get ice cream with his girlfriend, Belinda Worley. Belinda, 17, was raped and also shot. He was convicted of the killings. In May 1977, an elderly couple who were in the area for a funeral were . found beaten, tied up and shot dead in their motel room. While Ferguson . was never convicted of these murders, the same handgun was used in a . later crime of which he was found guilty. The crime was the slaying of the 'Carol City Six' in a home-invasion robbery in July 1977 - the worst mass murder in Dade history at the time. With two others, Ferguson entered a home under the guise of electrical . worker and tied up eight people, aged between 24 and 45, before . shooting them in the heads. Two survived. Three months later, Ferguson posed as a police officer and shot two teenagers during an attempted robbery but again the couple survived. Then in January 1978, he shot and killed Brian Glenfeldt, 17, and . Belinda Worley, 17, as they stopped off at a lover's lane on the way to . get ice cream after leaving a Christian youth meeting. Investigators said Ferguson had shot Brian in the head before chasing Belinda from the car and raping her. She was found shot dead in a wooded area. Detectives found that the gun used to kill the young couple had been . stolen from the Carol City home. Four months after, police tracked down . Ferguson and arrested him. Six months later, he was found guilty in two separate cases of the six . killings and the murder of the couple and sentenced to death. 'He was a pretty vicious man,' retired Judge Robert . Kaye, who put Ferguson on Death Row in 1978, told the Miami Herald. 'We had . pretty good information that he killed at least 12 people.' Fate: Ferguson will be put to death in Florida State Prison by lethal injection at 6pm on Tuesday . Over the years, Ferguson's lawyers have wrangled with the courts to throw out his death sentence, while two of his three 1977 accomplices have already been executed. In 1982, the Florida Supreme Court threw out the death sentence due to his mental illness, but the following year he was sentenced to death again - leading to years more of failed appeals. Michael Worley, Belinda's brother and only surviving relative, told The Miami Herald that he is upset over years of delays, and saddened that his mother is no longer alive to witness the execution. 'Outrageous is the fact that for 34 years, our tax dollars have been keeping Ferguson alive. Free food, medical care and the ability to communicate with his loved ones and lawyers,' he said. 'My sister was brutally killed at the age of 17. Her murder shattered our entire family. Life was never the same.' | John Errol Ferguson convicted of killing 8 people in 1970s murder spree .
Appeals court lifted last-minute stay that was based on his mental illness .
Comes after years of court battles over whether he understands execution .
Lawyers: ''It is a cruel and unusual punishment for a mentally ill man' |
70,247 | c71e4154b39fd7e66a78ecf0f53c8946193ab749 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:18 EST, 17 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:58 EST, 18 July 2013 . Nike has issued an apology for the glaring error on a line of Carolina Panthers t-shirts. While the team colors were right, and the Panther logo was correct, they were paired with the wrong state. Instead of North Carolina, the t-shirts featured the unmistakable shape of South Carolina along with the letters ‘NC.’ State of Confusion: Sports apparel giant Nike recently dropped the ball when it offered a Carolina Panthers shirt that mixed up South Carolina and North Carolina . Those, of course, are the initials for North Carolina. And though the Carolina Panthers name is meant to invoke both states, the team plays home game at Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. The shirt sold for $32, but was soon taken down from the company's web store. The error was first reported on the sports blog of Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler, called Scott Says. It was caught, Fowler wrote, by eagle-eyed Charlotte resident Les Hall, who then decided to buy the shirt for a laugh. What they meant: Written inside the state of South Carolina were the state initials 'NC,' for North Carolina . After Fowler’s post and subsequent story in the Observer, which were followed by a flurry of reports of the embarrassing mistake on websites and social media across the web, Nike responded. ‘A small quantity of incorrect Carolina Panthers tee shirts were recently made available for sale,’ wrote a spokesperson Brian Strong. ‘This product should not have been sold. We have removed it from sale and apologize for the error.’ How many shirts, exactly, were sold and how many were made at all remains unclear. As Fowler notes, Hall now likely has a collector's item on his hands, one worth well over the $32 he paid. Home team: Though the Panther team name is meant to be for both North and South Carolina, the team plays home games at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Nike has pulled the shirt and apologized . | Inside an outline of South Carolina are the initials 'NC' |
233,073 | b9bcce43683b3a21a3ff3bb908a05857a8e92857 | Michael Cull has endured a decade of pain because of his two-stone leg . A pensioner who has been branded a modern day 'Elephant Man' has been given fresh hope for treatment of his debilitating disease. Michael Cull, 66, has endured a decade of pain after his left leg ballooned to more than two stone in weight, leaving him incapable of walking and making him the target of cruel taunts from strangers. The retired Nasa computer technician from Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, accused the NHS of turning its back on him earlier this year after being told there was nothing that could be done to treat his condition. But he is now optimistic that he might finally be on the brink of a life-changing operation after being referred to a specialist in the north of England. He said doctors in Hull were discussing surgery to remove the deformed tissue from his lower leg and return it to a more manageable size. 'I am absolutely elated that all these years of pain may be coming to an end,' he said. 'It looks like I'll be going to Hull for the operation - it can't come soon enough for me. Finally, things are being put in place. 'As far as I know, it's a surgical procedure to remove all the tissue on the lower part of my leg. 'It will mean a big improvement to my life, it will bring things back to normality.' Scroll down for video . However, because he is Scottish, and the treatment is in England, Mr Cull's operation may not be able to go ahead if Scotland votes for independence. This would be devastating, as his condition means he finds doing regular things like cooking, taking a bath or going up stairs extremely difficult. It looks like Mr Cull's nightmare could finally be over, because specialists believe surgery can treat him . Mr Cull cannot board a plane, and finds regular things like cooking, taking a bath and going up stairs very hard . His nightmare started after a car accident while he was living in London. Despite attempts to halt the growth of his leg with stockings after he moved to Scotland, it continued to swell. The condition has now spread from his toes up to his hip, leaving his leg lumpy and deformed. It was only after he contacted First Minister Alex Salmond directly that he was referred to a consultant in Dundee last year. It was suggested he had elephantiasis, a disease found in third world countries, and is the stage of lymphedema at which the lymph channels are almost completely blocked. Mr Cull says he rarely leaves his home in because he was in so much discomfort - and when he did he was often the butt of 'Elephant Man' jokes in the street. 'People call me all sorts of things, like Elephant Man. It makes me really depressed,' he said. 'My trousers ride up when I walk so there is no way I can hide it. It affects my leg, foot, and toes. I can’t wear socks because I can’t get them on. Nothing will fit me.' But he added that previous press attention means he was glad he had spoken out. 'People have been a lot nicer, more friendly, they have been a lot more understanding,' he said. 'I think it has made the medical professionals move a little bit quicker, too.' He said he hoped to hear from his doctor again in the next week and expects to travel for surgery in the next month. 'I still don't know what it is. I think, after all this time, I'd like an answer to that, too,' he said. 'My message to anyone else suffering from a condition like mine is to make a nuisance of yourself, keep on top of the doctors. 'I see some of these other procedures people have on the NHS - cosmetic surgery and the like - and I just think that is totally wrong when I had to wait for so many years.' Mr Cull's leg is currently so big that he cannot even board a plane, as the seat space is too narrow for his leg, but now he is able to look to the future. 'I plan on doing a bit of travelling when I'm all fixed up. I've been stuck here for so long that I just can't wait to get going again,' he said. Elephantiasis is normally caused by a parasite from a mosquito bite and is usually found in tropical parts of the world, like India or the Amazon, where Mr Cull grew up. It is characterised by massive enlargement of an area of the body and is caused by the obstruction of the lymphatic system. This results in the accumulation of fluids in the affected part of the body. According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 1.4billion people in 73 countries worldwide are threatened by the condition, which is also known as lymphatic filariasis. WHO figures suggest that approximately 80 per cent of these people are living in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Nepal, Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Over 120million people are currently infected, with about 40 million disfigured and incapacitated by the disease, the organisation claims. The most famous person to suffer from a form of elephantiasis was Joseph Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man. In 1884, after four years in a workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman and proposed that he should exhibit him. His managers then named him Elephant Man and he was eventually sent on a tour of Europe. He returned to Britain and became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital. Merrick died in 1890, aged 27. It is reported he died from a dislocated neck when he lay down to sleep, because of the huge weight of his head. | Michael Cull, 66, has been living in agony for a decade with condition .
Has been subject of cruel taunts from strangers and stayed indoors .
He blames the NHS for letting the condition get to this stage .
Specialists in Hull believe they can give him surgery to treat his leg .
But Mr Cull is Scottish, so may not get treatment because of independence . |
100,693 | 0dbc7184ee4fcbc2b6374564b86989349b5fa962 | By . Katie Davies . PUBLISHED: . 18:07 EST, 2 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:50 EST, 4 March 2013 . A top Sixties model is suing makers of the hit TV show Mad Men for using her image without consent in the opening credits, it emerged today. The stunning image of Gita Hall May, well-known for her eye-catching red hair, is seen projected on a skyscraper in the Emmy-winning show's iconic opening credits. During the show's title music a silhouette of an 'ad man' is seen falling among the Manhattan skyline with famous adverts shown all around him. May's image is included and comes from an advert she did for Revlon hairspray in the 1950s. Scroll down for video . Controversy: Gita Hall May is suing Lionsgate for this image in the opening credits of Mad Men. The sequence shows an image of the model, pictured, she claims was used without her consent . Top model: Gita Hall May, pictured, was a popular 1950s and 1960s model. She claims Mad Men used her image to give the show credibility and she is entitled to damages as a result . In a complaint filed to Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, showbiz website Deadline reports, Hall May. 79, claimed Mad Men studio Lionsgate failed to request her permission to use the image shot by famous fashion photographer Richard Avedon. 'I wished they had had the courtesy to get in touch with me,” she told ABC News on Monday. 'I was surprised because nobody had checked with me about it– they must have thought I was dead.' She says the now well-known opening sequence put together by design firm Imaginary Forces helped the drama, starring January Jones and John Hamm, become a success. 'At no time did she agree to allow, forty years later, her image to be cropped from the photo, in secret, and inserted as a key element in the title sequence of a cable television series, without her consent and for commercial purposes,' her complaint says. 'The Main Titles were integral to the success of Mad Men'. Upset: Hall said on a morning show that no one tried to get in touch with her and she assumes they thought she must be dead . Award-winner: Mad Men which first appeared on screens in 2007 has been both critically acclaimed and popular among the public. It follows central character Don Draper, pictured . Redhead: Character Joan is seen as the epitome of fifties glamor in the hit series. Gita Hall May was a model well-known for her striking red hair . It goes on to point out the titles themselves won an Emmy and the show's producers have made in excess of $1billion as a result of the series' success. May says she only became aware of the use of her image last May despite it appearing in the credits since the show's pilot in 2007. She claims the show used her image to give the series credibility. 'Defendants sought to include the likeness of a famous celebrity from the 1950s in the credits in order to promote and burnish the image of the show in the eyes of the public and to create the 'feel' of the program that was critical to its commercial success... Defendants sought Plaintiff's image because she was among the top models of her day,' the lawsuit says. Lionsgate were unavailable to comment on the legal action which seeks unspecified damages. Fifties beauty: Gita Hall May, pictured, is claiming unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed today . Lawsuit: Hall May filed the lawsuit against the hit TV show in an LA court on Friday . The highly anticipated sixth season of the popular show which follows the lives and affairs of Don Draper and his ad world colleagues is due to return on April 7. It is said to be the second to last season of the popular AMC drama. Gita Hall May, 79, was a former Miss Sweden who became an actress and model. She was famously married to the actor Barry Sullivan and appeared in numerous adverts and fashion magazines throughout the fifties and sixties shot by photographers such as Avedon and Irving Penn. | Gita Hall May, 79, is suing Lionsgate for 'failing to seek permission' to use an advert she appeared in in the 1950s .
The beauty queen turned model filed a lawsuit seeking damages for the use of her image on the Emmy winning show's famous opening sequence .
The striking redhead poses in a Revlon advert as the silhouette of an ad man is seen falling in front of her from a Manhattan skyscraper . |
26,211 | 4a4a4e8243d08d1822cee423cf44f54479ea5920 | (CNN) -- Washington isn't listening. The disconnect between the American people and the agenda being advanced in Washington is growing by the day. When Americans have spoken up, their voices have fallen on deaf ears. Political expedience and partisan allegiances have repeatedly trumped the priorities of the American people. Americans wanted jobs, but instead Washington passed a "stimulus" that has failed to keep unemployment below 8 percent as promised -- while producing countless instances of government waste. Americans wanted lower health care costs, but instead Washington passed a health care law that will actually increase costs and hurt our economy. Americans want common-sense fiscal discipline, but Washington continues to spend money we don't have and pile debt on future generations. The current approach in Washington is failing the American people, who deserve a Congress and a government that puts their priorities and everyday concerns first. It's not enough, however, for Republicans to simply state our principled opposition to the current agenda. We must also offer the American people a clear set of solutions they can expect us to fight for, a project that House Republican Leader John Boehner has tasked me to lead. Shortly after beginning this important work, we realized that distrust in government runs too deep to simply hand down a policy plan from Washington. More than just new policy, we also need to change the way Washington sets its policy. That notion is the driving force behind America Speaking Out, an unprecedented initiative designed to engage the public in a discussion of your priorities for America. Read more about the GOP's plan . Beginning next week, House Republicans will be setting out across the country to hold America Speaking Out town halls, where we will seek your input on creating a new policy agenda. At the same time, we will be using all the technological tools available to us, such as phone apps and telephone town halls, to listen to the priorities of the American people. This effort includes a new interactive website -- AmericaSpeakingOut.com -- that will allow anyone, regardless of party, to submit what he or she believes should be a part of this new plan. We have developed this site to be the home for an online conversation between members of Congress and those they are elected to represent. These ideas and exchanges will serve as the building blocks for the governing agenda we will present to the American people later this year. Of course, this will be a Republican agenda, so this project is designed to take core common-sense, conservative principles -- whether it's building a smaller, more accountable government, economic freedom and lower taxes, or providing for a strong national defense -- and discuss how they can be applied to America's priorities. Rather than a listening tour, we are seeking a robust debate about the challenges we face and the solutions that should be pursued. Leadership is about laying out clear solutions to the challenges we face, just as we have offered positive alternatives to Democratic policies with which we disagree. But leadership today also requires a humility that appreciates that Americans are really in charge of Congress. America Speaking Out recognizes that the wisdom and will of the American people are the only things strong enough to change the course our nation is on. Building a new agenda for our nation starts today, and we hope all Americans will join us in the process. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kevin McCarthy. | Rep. Kevin McCarthy says Washington hasn't been listening to what Americans want .
He says people wanted lower health care costs, not a costly new entitlement .
People wanted more jobs, not a stimulus that has failed to keep unemployment down, he says .
McCarthy says the GOP is asking Americans for ideas for a new policy agenda . |
106,295 | 151a66a37dfe97ceecb9a4d66ba70d6451d5fb23 | Historic: What killed Richard the Lionheart? He succumbed to a mystery infection . More than eight centuries after he fell in battle, the mystery of what actually killed one of England's most famous kings could finally be solved. Richard the Lionheart succumbed to a mystery infection while being treated for a crossbow wound during a siege of a castle in France on April 6, 1199. But nobody has ever been able to work out what germ infected Richard’s bloodstream, so causing his death at the age of 42. Now Philippe Charlier, a leading forensics expert, is to examine a miniscule sample of the 12th Century king’s heart so as to identify the cause of his death 812 years ago. Dusty fragments of King Richard’s heart have been kept for centuries in Rouen Cathedral, in northern France. Mr Charlier said that chemical tests on just 'one or two milligrams' of the remains – just 1 per cent of the Rouen relic – will be enough to provide conclusive results, and they are likely to be ready in just three months’ time. 'It is a forensic challenge,' said Mr Charlier. 'We want to get the maximum information from the smallest possible sample.' Initial tests uncovered the presence of human cells, as well as 'vegetable, mineral and metal elements'. Forensics expert Philippe Charlier examining a skull. He is to examine a miniscule sample of the 12th Century king's heart to identify the cause of his death . It is thought that Richard I died of septicaemia, but this has never been proved. Mr Charlier also hopes to learn more about the embalming process on the King’s body, which would have been carried out by lowly servants. Caroline Dorion-Peyronnet, curator of Rouen's antiquities museum, has refused numerous requests for samples in the past – mainly by British people trying to prove family links with royalty. But she has now agreed to Mr Charlier's request as there will be 'no DNA tests'. Celebrated: A statue of Richard the Lionheart is in front of the Houses of Parliament . Mr Charlier, who is dubbed the 'Indiana Jones of the graveyards', previously helped put paid to claims that Napoleon Bonaparte was poisoned by his British captors. Richard I is one of the most popular kings in England history after leading the Third Christian Crusade against Muslims who had captured Jerusalem in the 12th century. He failed to take the city because of inner-feuds between his Crusader allies, but scored numerous victories against Saladin, his Muslim counterpart. Despite his reputation in England, Richard spent most of his time in his lands in France, and mainly conversed in French dialects. Richard died after a crossbow bolt pierced his shoulder during a siege of the castle of Chalus-Chabrol in the Limousin region of France. | Philippe Charlier is described as the 'Indiana Jones of the graveyards'
He previously put paid to claims that Napoleon Bonaparte was poisoned by his British captors . |
97,353 | 094701c67dc82278120d2d7927b6d3548047570d | (CareerBuilder.com) -- Talking about how much you earn is kind of like talking about how much you weigh. Both are uncomfortable subjects, so you might not always be 100 percent honest about either. (Who hasn't shaved 10 pounds off their physique or upped their salary by a few thousand dollars when hanging with their rich and skinny friends?) Most of the time, these little white lies are no big deal -- it's not as if your friends are going to ask you get on a scale to verify your weight. However, while telling an occasional fib in daily conversation may be a minor offense, lying about your salary history on a job application can be a serious transgression. "Unlike many soft skills, salaries are finite, concrete numbers that can be verified through things like a W2, 1099 [or] tax return," says Paul Peterson, national talent resource manager for Grant Thornton, a management consulting firm. That means that if you lie about your salary history on your résumé, there's a good chance that your potential employer will find out. Careerbuilder.com: 7 questions not to ask . "If someone goes to extremes to embellish a salary prior to getting the job, one has to ask, 'What will they embellish when they are actually performing the job?'" Peterson says. Though it's true that not all employers conduct background checks or delve as deep as checking a candidate's W2 forms, salary information can easily be verified through your references -- which most employers do check. "Salary is one of the very few things that former employers are often willing to reveal in a reference check," says Barry Maher, author of "Filling the Glass: The Skeptic's Guide to Positive Thinking in Business." "Even if they won't give the exact amount, a question like, 'If I placed his salary range with you in the area of $100,000 would I be in the ballpark?' usually yields the information." Bottom line? "Lying about anything as part of a job search strategy is not a good idea," says Elaine Varelas, managing partner at Keystone Partners, a recruitment firm. "Starting a relationship with a company based on false pretenses may not hurt you in the short term, but chances are you will be exposed." Careerbuilder.com: 5 ways to rehab your resume . Yet what about job seekers who think they were underpaid at their last job? Should they continue to settle for less money than they think they're worth, just to avoid embellishing their salary history? Not necessarily, say our experts. There are plenty of ways to get the salary you deserve without lying on a job application. Here, they offer three ways to broach the subject of salary increase with a potential employer: . 1. "If you're looking to make a significant jump in salary, my advice to people is to convince the potential employer why you are worth what you are seeking and, where possible, quantify that number," Peterson says. 2. "It's perfectly acceptable to say something like 'I'm making $80,000 now. And though my present employer would certainly agree that I'm worth more, the simple fact is ...' then give the reason, [whether it be] a salary freeze, budget constraints, tough times in that industry, whatever. [Then continue with] 'Since the industry standard for someone with my skills and experience is $120,000, that's one of the reasons I'm looking to move on,'" Maher says. Careerbuilder.com: Great employee? Or you just think you are? 3. "When you are asked about compensation, you can say: 'I was making in the mid-$70s, which included a 20 percent performance bonus, which I always got, and a very comprehensive benefits package.' Then ask, 'What is the compensation range for this position?' Using this technique allows you flexibility and gets the employer to share compensation data. Be prepared to negotiate only after an offer has been made," Varelas advises. © CareerBuilder.com 2011. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority. | Lying about your salary history on a job application can be a serious transgression .
A salary is a finite, concrete numbers that can be verified through a W2, 1099 or tax return .
There are plenty of ways to get the salary you deserve without lying on a job application . |
112,554 | 1d356cfa379e6cab5c30b5b63521f76673d17a83 | Washington (CNN) -- After four years in which he has alternately helped -- and miffed -- the White House, Vice President Joe Biden told CNN that his role as the deal-closer is clearly his most comfortable yet. "I have spent a lot of time in this town. And I have personal relationships with people I strongly disagree with, but there's trust. And so I'm a logical person, a logical person to, as they say or you guys say, close the deal," Biden told CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger in an exclusive pre-inaugural interview. Biden cut the last-minute deal last month with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that averted going over the fiscal cliff -- after President Barack Obama's negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner failed. He was given the high-profile task of putting together the administration's sweeping gun control proposals and will play a major role in pushing them through Congress. He is quick to emphasize that he was not undercutting the president when he reached deals with congressional Republicans. "I have his complete support for what I'm saying, because I know what he wants, No. 1," Biden said. "It's the president, not me." Sworn in again, Obama lingers for last look . Obama and the vice president ran against each other for the 2008 Democratic nomination, and Biden said that helped forge a relationship. "So when we got into this deal, we didn't have what other administrations have had, where the vice president and the president have a different take on the major issues of the day. We're totally simpatico," Biden said. He told Borger that he never had any problem with any assignment he was given in the first term, when he was tasked with overseeing the $787 billion stimulus program, cutting several key fiscal deals with congressional Republicans once they took control of the House of Representatives in the mid-terms and leading the effort to end the U.S. military presence in Iraq. Biden makes second term official . In the second term, one of his major duties will be to help get congressional approval for the most far-reaching gun control legislation in decades. After dozens of meetings with more than 120 groups spanning the various issues related to gun violence, he led the inter-agency effort that came up with the specific proposals. Biden and Obama know they will have to mount a major public relations campaign to try to overcome the strength and opposition of the National Rifle Association. "There's a growing consensus in this country, a growing consensus among even sportsmen and other groups, about everything from who should own a weapon ... and what information should be available," he told CNN, saying he believed it would be easier to pass this type of legislation in the wake of the elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Biden, a major gun-control proponent who has gone up against the National Rifle Association for decades, was the major reason the 1994 assault weapons bill passed. A tale of two terms: Unfinished business and battles ahead . Asked if he thought the NRA is stoking fear against the president, he responded, "Look, I think the NRA's reaction -- overreaction -- is a reflection of the vulnerability of their position." Biden is also expected to be one of the key players in coming fiscal fights: automatic spending cuts set to take effect in a month, funding the government and the debt ceiling. House Republicans just signaled they would support a three month extension. The vice president said that is a hopeful sign that the GOP would not allow the country to default on its debts. "The Republicans aren't going to do that. They've finally figured it out. All this bluster about you're going to renege on the debt," he said. "They will not because there are more responsible people in that party than irresponsible. So it's not going to happen." Biden said he hoped there is still a path forward to allow the White House and congressional leaders to reach agreement on a major deficit reduction deal -- one that has so far eluded them despite optimism in the past. Biden's recommendations on gun control to Obama . "So we ought to be able to, in the next three months, finish out that grand bargain to get us to the point of ... where debt to GDP (gross domestic product) is about 3%," he said. "Every economist, left, right and center, says that -- when that happens, the economy grows. I think we'll get there." As the president and vice president have worked to achieve many of the administration's major goals, the two have had some disagreements -- Biden did not agree that the timing of the mission to kill Osama bin Laden was right, and the vice president got out in front of his boss when Biden voiced support for same-sex marriage on "Meet the Press" last May. "We sometimes disagreed on tactics as to how to proceed to try to get what he wanted done, which I've agreed with, but we've never disagreed on policy. And even the so-called discussion about, you know, my saying I was comfortable with gay and lesbians and relationships, I knew his positions," Biden said. When Borger asked about those specific comments, he recounted how the president reacted. "I walked into the office and he got up, smiled, gave me a big hug and he said, 'Now, I'll tell you what, man, that's one of the things I like about you, you say what's on your mind,' " the vice president recounted. He recently told The New York Times it did cause "a little apoplexy" around the White House. "It did, but not with him. Not with him." It was with the president's staff. Some of Biden's candor has at times has not gone over well with White House officials. Obama's second-term priorities . Asked how he can tell when he may have done something the president doesn't like or makes him angry, Biden said that is "easy." "We made a deal early on, when either one of us are dissatisfied we just flat tell the other person. And so one -- lunch once a week, you know, that's when we talk. And when he hasn't liked something I've done, he just flat tells me." Borger asked: "He says, 'Joe, you shouldn't have done that?' " Biden responded "He says, 'Joe, look ... I don't agree with the way you did that. You, you know, why did you do A, B, C or D?' Or he will say, or I will say, 'Hey, look, man, I don't like the way this is going' -- so there's complete openness." Biden, who at times has been known more by the public for his gaffes than his policy work, has seen his approval ratings rise recently. He has hinted he may seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and told CNN any decision about his future is not imminent. He did attend Iowa's inaugural party in Washington this weekend and invited New Hampshire's governor to his official swearing-in Sunday. Those two states vote first in presidential nominating contests in three years. "There's a whole lot of reasons why I wouldn't run. I haven't made that decision. And I don't have to make that decision for a while. In the meantime, there's one thing I know I have to do, no matter what I do. I have to help this president move this country to the next stage." Asked whether he was ready to run against Hillary Clinton, who many Democrats expect to be a candidate in 2016, he responded: "I haven't made that judgment. And Hillary hasn't made that judgment. But I can tell you what -- everything that should be done over the next two years that I should be part of would have to be done whether I run or I don't run. "If this administration is successful, whoever is running as a Democrat is better positioned to win. If we're not successful, whoever runs as the nominee is going to be less likely to win." Four other priorities for Obama's next four years . CNN Producer Courtney Yager contributed to this report . | Biden says he's comfortable with most recent role as deal closer .
Vice president says running against Obama in 2008 helped forge relationship .
One of Obama's biggest roles will be trying to get Obama's guns agenda through Congress .
Some of Biden's candor hasn't gone over well with White House staff . |
196,538 | 8a5bbc51e40e2ff59059311a185255aab7beafc2 | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 17:02 EST, 7 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 21:48 EST, 7 August 2012 . A six-year-old was found clinging to the dead body of her babysitter after the 59-year-old woman suffered a fatal heart attack while the pair were cooling off in a lake. The distraught girl was rescued from the reservoir by boaters who found her holding on to the floating corpse of family friend Pamela Kaner. No swimming or wading is allowed in Lake Gleneida, which is part of New York City's water supply system. Location: Boaters rescued a six-year-old girl from a small reservoir after finding her clinging to the floating corpse of a family friend who had taken her to the lake to cool off . Scene: No swimming or wading is allowed in Lake Gleneida, which is part of New York City's water supply system . The girl told police that Ms Kaner brought her into the water late yesterday afternoon and was holding her before something went wrong. An autopsy took place and reports suggested that Ms Kaner had suffered a heart attack. A group of people in a rowboat heard the girl crying for help around 5pm and found her holding on to the woman's body, floating some distance from shore, Carmel Police Chief Michael Johnson said. The lake is 730 yards across at its widest point - about 14 times the width of an American football field. The boaters pulled the girl from the water and brought her to shore. She was treated in hospital but was not seriously harmed. Kaner's body was retrieved by firefighters. 'I believe it was traumatic for the child,' Chief Johnson said. | Pamela Kaner, 59, died in Lake Gleneida . |
62,208 | b0b751a0e9c5a88a63550e639d7ec404aba39e72 | Los Angeles (CNN) -- Brooke Mueller, the ex-wife of actor Charlie Sheen, will undergo drug rehab at home while caring for her young twins, her spokesman said Monday. Mueller was arrested in Aspen, Colorado, on December 3 and charged with assault and cocaine possession, police said. "Recognizing past attempts at treatment have not been successful, Brooke has decided to take a different approach to deal with her addiction," spokesman Steve Honig said. Mueller will take part in a rehab program during the day, but she will be "under expert supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Honig said. "In addition, Brooke has requested to be tested on a daily basis for cocaine and other illegal substances so there is no doubt as to her commitment." The 2-year-old sons she shares with Sheen will stay in Mueller's custody and will "be cared for by Brooke and their longtime nanny," Honig said. "Charlie and Brooke's family are all fully supportive of this decision and recognize the importance of maintaining the children's normal routine." The incidents in Aspen began when a woman at the Belly Up -- a bar and performance venue there -- complained that Mueller had been "the aggressor" in an assault, Aspen police said. Mueller was found and arrested after midnight at another bar, Escobar, police said. She was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, which is a felony, and third-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor. She was released after posting an $11,000 bond, Aspen police said. A court date is scheduled for December 19. Mueller has appeared as an actress in several movies, including 2004's "A Love Song for Bobby Long," according to IMDb. But she is more widely known as the ex-wife of Sheen, with whom she has twin sons. The boys and Mueller were part of Sheen's volatile public fall-out with CBS earlier this year as he left his starring role on the network's "Two and Half Men." She claimed in March that he'd threatened to kill her, saying, "I will cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom," according to a declaration made in a restraining order against Sheen. The revelations led to a court order removing the 2-year-old boys from Sheen's home. The actor called the allegation "colorful" and described the quote attributed to him as fabricated in an interview with NBC's "Today Show." Mueller has sought help for substance abuse and stress-related issues in the past. Last December, her attorney, Yale Galanter, said that she entered a sober living facility. Earlier, in April 2010, Mueller had checked into a treatment facility for help with stress management to prevent a "return to old problems," her representative said. She was in substance abuse rehab earlier in 2010 "to get her health in order," Galanter said at the time. The couple was involved in an alleged domestic dispute in Aspen on Christmas Day 2009 that resulted in felony charges against Sheen. CNN's Jack Hannah contributed to this report. | Brooke Mueller will take part in a daytime drug program, but have 24/7 supervision .
Mueller faces a drug charge after an Aspen, Colorado, arrest .
Her twin sons will stay with her at home during her rehab .
Mueller went to rehab in 2010 . |
245,322 | c9884c2633712200f83978782830405c61a7fc7d | (CNN) -- Former President George H.W. Bush released an updated version of his book, "All the Best, George Bush; My Life in Letters and Other Writings," in which he talks about how he had to keep himself in check while his son George W. Bush faced criticism while in the White House. "My heart went out to him," the 41st president wrote of the 43rd. At the same time Jeb Bush, a former two-term Florida governor and possible 2016 presidential candidate, also released the book he co-wrote on the immigration debate, "Immigration Wars." Here's a look at the Bush family, by the numbers: . 2: Presidents whose sons later became president: John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. 444: The estimated number of people in the United States named George Bush, according to the How Many of Me.com website. 3: Members of the immediate Bush family named George. In addition to George H.W. and George W., George P. is Jeb Bush's son and a managing partner of an investment firm in Fort Worth, Texas. 6: Number of children George H.W. and Barbara Bush had: George W., Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro. Robin died of leukemia as a child in 1953. 17: Number of the Bushes' grandchildren. 3: Living members of the Bush family who graduated from Yale University -- George H. W. ('48), George W. ('68), and George W.'s daughter Barbara ('04). 2: Times brothers George W. and Jeb Bush were each elected governor. George W. Bush was governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and Jeb Bush was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. 65: Percentage point drop from George W. Bush's highest presidential job approval weekly rating (90%) in 2001 to his lowest (25%), which was recorded three times in Gallup's weekly poll in October and November 2008. 60: Difference in George H. W. Bush's highest and lowest job approval ratings: 89% in February 1991 and 29% in July 1992. 60: Types of endangered species whose habitats were saved during the Florida state program to clean up the Everglades, which was launched while Jeb Bush was governor. 12: Age of George W. Bush's Scottish terrier, Barney, who died from lymphoma in February 2013. While he was "first dog," Barney appeared regularly in online videos made by the White House Communications Agency. 4: Trips to Iraq while in office by George W. Bush after the war there began in 2003 . 3: Strands in former first lady Barbara Bush's trademark pearl necklace. 48-3: Score in the most recent football game (September 2012) between Texas A&M University, site of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and Southern Methodist University, where the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum will open to the public on May 1. | 6 - Number of children George and Barbara Bush had .
3 - Living members of the Bush family who graduated from Yale University.
4 - Trips to Iraq while in office by President George W. Bush after the war began. |
239,389 | c1ee64ae8c14269abc746d327723e06a09471346 | (CNN) -- Here's something shocking. Democrats and Republicans totally disagree about the significance of the GOP's victory in the first major competitive congressional ballot box test of 2014. Republican candidate David Jolly narrowly edged out Democrat Alex Sink to win Tuesday's special election in Florida's 13th Congressional District. Jolly will fill out the term of his former boss, longtime Republican Rep. Bill Young, who died in October. Republicans win first election showdown of the year . The race was consistently in the spotlight with national Republicans framing the election as a referendum on Obamacare. They injected a massive infusion of outside ad money into the race and some pundits cast the election as a possible bellwether for November's midterms. "I think this was a referendum on (President Barack Obama's) policies and on Obamacare, that played out significantly to the disadvantage of (House Democratic Leader) Nancy Pelosi. And I think it sets the tone for what's coming in the fall," Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told CNN Wednesday. "We've been trying to tell people this is a referendum election, Obamacare is not helping people the way it was promised, and Democrats are going to have a lot of answering to do," Walden added. But his counterpart at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sees very little predictive value in the results. "Special elections are not indicators of the future. They never have been. They never will be. And certainly this is not an indicator of the future," Rep. Steve Israel, the DCCC chairman, told reporters. Special coverage: 2014 Midterm Elections . While a contest this far out from Election Day rarely offers a preview of what will actually happen in November, Jolly's victory gives the GOP instant bragging rights. And the results also illustrate a few things about how the midterm election season may play out. GOP's convinced Obamacare's bad medicine for Democrats: While the candidates and local matters weighed heavily in the race, Obamacare was also a key issue. And Jolly's victory will only embolden Republican attempts top repeal the Affordable Care Act. "His (Jolly's) victory shows that voters are looking for representatives who will fight to end the disaster of Obamacare," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and co-chair Sharon Day said in an email blast to reporters. Many of the ads attacking Sink focused on health care. "Canceled health plans. Higher premiums. Medicare cuts. People losing their doctors. A disaster for families and seniors. For Alex Sink, the priority is Obamacare. Not us," said the narrator in a TV commercial by the Chamber of Commerce, which backed Jolly. That was a potent message in a district that's one of the grayest in the nation. Nearly a quarter of all residents in Florida-13 are 65 or older. Jolly said he was committed to getting rid of Obamacare entirely. Sink recognized that Obamacare was a major issue. While she highlighted how the Affordable Care Act has helped people, she also noted that the law has flaws and said she was open to GOP proposals to amend some of the measure's requirements. The Democratic National Committee claimed the issue of health care actually kept the contest close. The most important poll number of 2014 . "Republicans fell short of their normal margin in this district because the agenda they are offering voters has a singular focus - that a majority of voters oppose - repealing the Affordable Care Act that would return us to the same old broken health care system," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the DNC chair. Democratic pollster Geoff Garin told reporters that "based on polling we did up until the election, Alex Sink basically neutralized the issue of the Affordable Care Act." But Garin noted that Obamacare energized the GOP electorate. "We have to acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act was a motivating issue for Republicans to come out and vote, and less so for Democrats," he said. Last autumn's flawed rollout of the health care law and the controversy over canceled policies because of Obamacare played into Republican hands. And the President's inaccurate pledge that "If you like your insurance, you can keep it" under the new health care law is a line that dominated GOP attack ads the past few months. Even before Tuesday's GOP victory, Republicans pledged to keep the campaign focus on the health care law, even if it starts to gain traction with the public. A number of Republican strategists CNN reached out to on Wednesday said that while the focus won't be 100% on Obamacare, they admit it will remain a huge part of how they frame the midterms. Non-partisan analysts agree. Republicans hit Landrieu over climate change all-nighter . "The one thing Republicans will take away from this race is that the Obamacare assault worked. We're going to see more and more and more," said CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. "Regardless of whether or not the election will tell us anything about November, the two political parties will learn lessons from this contest and apply them to future races," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. "Jolly's win means it's all about Obamacare for the GOP." Outside money really mattered: In Sink, national Democrats landed the high-profile and well-known candidate they wanted in this race, and she faced nominal opposition in January's Democratic primary. Jolly was far from the GOP's dream candidate, and he had to battle to win his party's nomination. The past two months, he faced a barrage of attacks by Democrats on his days as a lobbyist and his work for groups pushing to privatize Social Security. Sink, meanwhile, greatly out-raised, and outspent Jolly. But support from outside groups gave Jolly a major boost. Since it's one of a dwindling number of competitive districts and since it was the only game in town, outside money poured into the race. It was the most expensive contest so far this cycle, topping even last year's special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts. In addition to the approximate $2.5 million spent by the two campaigns, the party committees and outside groups dished out more than $9 million to run TV and radio ads, other paid media and direct mail, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors outside spending. The pro-Republican group American Crossroads, which said it spent $500,000 on the contest, said that Florida-13 was just an appetizer . "A lot of us rolled up our sleeves after 2012, studied the Obama playbook and invested in targeted voter turnout and more effective messaging. The Florida CD-13 special was an important test market and there was unprecedented cooperation among outside groups. We intend to keep refining these lessons as we prepare for the fall elections," said Crossroads CEO Stephen Law. Turnout mattered: Florida-13, which is a swing district in a swing state, covers most of Pinellas County between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, including parts of St. Petersburg. While Young captured 58% of the vote in his 2012 re-election, President Barack Obama narrowly carried the district in his 2008 and 2012 victories. So what happened Tuesday? Jolly won by around 3,500 votes out of some 180,000 cast. A libertarian candidate grabbed just under 5% of the vote. The plain and simple truth is that Sink lost because Democratic voters didn't vote. Turnout in the 2012 election was nearly double what it was in the special election. Democratic officials Wednesday said by their calculations, the GOP had a plus-13 advantage in the voting electorate in Tuesday's special election, compared to a plus-five advantage for the Republicans in the district in 2012. "The reality is Alex Sink was able to narrow a very large Republican advantage in turnout. She did very well with independent voters," said Garin. And Israel vowed to win the district come November, when he says the electorate will be more slightly more favorable to the Democrats. "If this election were in November instead of March, I think Alex Sink would have won," Israel added. A veteran Democratic strategist says his party has some hard work ahead. "While it is true that a special election often has lower turnout (and thus is more likely to be won by a Republican), I think Democrats spin this loss at their own peril. We lost, period," said CNN contributor Paul Begala. "It means we have to redouble our efforts to register and turn out the Rising American Electorate: people of color, unmarried women, young people. We will never be able to match the right wing dollar-for-dollar, so we have to beat them voter-to-voter," he said. Steep road got steeper: The Democrats odds of winning back the House in November just got a little bit slimmer. With Jolly's win keeping the congressional seat in GOP hands, the Democrats still need win 17 seats in the midterms to regain control of the chamber. Political handicappers consider that a tall order, considering the shrinking number of competitive congressional districts nationwide. | Republican David Jolly narrowly beat Democrat Alex Sink in a special election .
Outside groups supporting Jolly poured more money into race than Democrats .
Republicans feel they have found a winning issue on Obamacare . |
243,958 | c7c5cccf7acb230c4958fd986c2e99ff2ea75500 | Nestled quietly to the side of the M25, it appears to be like any other commuter village. But among the cluster of well-kept houses and community centres lies a group of residents living life a little differently. For the people of Spielplatz in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, form one of the country's few naked villages, having lived in the nude for more than 85 years. Scroll down for video . A documentary exposing the lifestyle of a small community of naturists in a small village on London's commuter belt will be shown next month. Tina and Mark Yates (pictured above in the community's local pub) have been living in Spielplatz since visiting so that Mrs Yates could overcome body self-consciousness . Their lifestyle has been laid bare in a new documentary offering the outside world a glimpse into naturism. Among those enjoying life in Spielplatz - which means playground in German - is Iseult Richardson, 82, whose father founded the community in 1929. 'There is no difference between naturists and people who live up the street,' she insisted. 'We all live normal lives but are just lucky enough to live in this extraordinary place.' Properties in the village mainly comprise of two-bedroom bungalows which sell for £85,000, the Mirror reports. The couple are among 34 home-owners who live permanently at the site that is a stone's throw from the M25 . Everyday activities such as meal times and trips to the small, local pub are normally carried out in the nude . Wellington boots are reserved for gardening while residents can also choose to wear clothes if feeling chilly. Vic Lightfoot, the club's financial director, has trouble persuading girlfriend Maggie (pictured left) to strip off . Mark Yates in the community's entertainment room while his wife Tina goes outside for a dip in the pool . George, another of the residents, relaxes in the living room of his bungalow. The properties cost £85,000 . Residents also have the option to wear clothes if they want to when it is cold or they are doing daily chores . While residents prefer stripping off, they will adorn wellingtons, trousers or appropriate clothing when carrying out tasks like gardening. Trips to their own local pub, swimming sessions and meal times are all performed in the nude. Earlier this year one woman spoke of how life in the village cured her of body esteem issues. Tina Yates was self-conscious of a scar on her abdomen following an operation, and was taken to Spielplatz by her naturist husband in the hope it may cheer her up. Soon the pensioner had let go of all her previous body hang-ups, and the couple settled in permanently. While those living behind its fences are free of inhibitions, tensions are fraught over an ongoing debate about whether to force visitors to bare all when they come to see family. The Naked Village will be shown on More 4 on December 11 at 9pm. Earlier this year residents posed in one of the gardens as Tina Yates (third from left) spoke of life together . | Small community of nudists live in Spielplatz, Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire .
Village, named after the German word for playground, was founded in 1929 .
Residents rely on deliveries of food and electrical appliances from outside .
Their lifestyle is laid bare More4 documentary The Naked Village . |
127,887 | 3150c9352de2d5684fab890c045e755d93c444ea | Australia beat Pakistan by five wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the one-day international series. Having won the toss and seen openers Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed put on 126, Pakistan crumbled to 215 all out as Mitchell Johnson took three for 40. Australia's top three failed to produce big scores but Glenn Maxwell carried them through with 76 and, having won the opening match by 93 runs thanks to Steve Smith's century, they appear well set to complete a series clean sweep in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Australian players celebrate after the dismissal of Pakistan batsman Mohammad Irfan . Umar Akmal (right) looks on after being dismissed as Australia wrapped up a series win against Pakistan . Pakistan, though, had started well and Shehzad glanced Johnson's leg-side loosener for four as seven came from the first over. James Faulkner's first ball brought a loud lbw appeal against Sarfraz but he survived and the batsmen's partnership passed 50 in the 12th over. The last ball before drinks saw Sarfraz launch Xavier Doherty for six but Shehzad was first to his half-century, from 63 balls when he hit Lyon for his fifth four to also bring up Pakistan's century. He was uncharacteristically dropped by George Bailey at mid-off before Sarfraz followed him to 50, from 60 balls with four fours and a six. It all changed, though, when Shehzad pulled Doherty to mid-wicket to depart for 61 and Johnson returned to have Sarfraz caught at point for 65. Australia batsman David Warner strikes the ball on the way to scoring 29 runs . Captain Misbah-ul-Haq was run out for 15 and Umar Akmal made just five before becoming Johnson's second victim, again with the first ball of a spell. Asad Shafiq hit Kane Richardson for six and Lyon for four but was then caught off the latter, chipping straight to Johnson for 29. Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz contributed only two apiece and debutant Raza Hasan was run out without scoring - as was the lumbering Mohammad Irfan to finish the innings. Hasan nearly had a wicket in each of his first two overs, but replays showed Aaron Finch's edge dropped short of Umar Akmal before a leaping Fawad was unable to cling on to Warner's sweep. Finch made 14 before being given out on review after edging Irfan to keeper Sarfraz, who also caught Smith for 12 off Babar to leave Australia 39 for two. Pakistan batsman Sarfraz Ahmed receives encouragement from Ahmed Shehzad after he scored half a century but it was not enough to prevent Pakistan slumping to 215 all out . Pakistan batsman Misbah Ul Haq hits the ball before being run out for just 15 runs in the one-day international . Warner fell for 29 when a lusty blow was only prevented from going for six by the presence on the boundary of the 7ft Irfan, who took a good catch. Maxwell had made only two when he edged Hasan to slip and was dropped by Akmal but he and Bailey put on 85 for the fourth wicket to all but make the game safe. Maxwell crashed Afridi for six and his 56-ball half-century also featured six fours, and he added two more off Hasan in the next over. Bailey was run out superbly for 28 by a direct hit from Shehzad but Maxwell reached 76 from 81 balls before being caught off a top edge. Brad Haddin announced himself with a four and a six in succession off Hasan and with seven needed from six overs, James Faulkner finished the job with back-to-back boundaries. | Australia strolled to victory to move 2-0 ahead in series with one to play .
Mitchell Johnson took three for 40 as Pakistan collapse to 215 all-out .
Australia will target clean sweep in final match in Abu Dhabi on Sunday . |
10,259 | 1d1e0cccfda616a372f72fabcc4ecfecc864f8b9 | "Piers Morgan Tonight" airs weeknights on CNN/US at 9 p.m. ET and on CNN International at 0200 GMT (live simulcast), 1200 GMT, and 2000 GMT and HKT. CNN -- Andrew Lloyd Webber told CNN's Piers Morgan that Michael Jackson wanted to play the title role in the film version of "The Phantom of the Opera." According to Webber, the King of Pop came to see the Broadway show multiple times -- years before the film came out -- and he and Jackson had spoken about a potential "Phantom" movie role. However, Webber said, "People in those days were very worried that a film, if it was made, would destroy the Broadway or the West End show, and everybody would just go and see the movie. In fact, it's been proven to be completely the other way around. If you make a movie, it's just a great help for the theater. But goodness knows what it would've been like." The seven-time Tony-winning, four-time Grammy-winning composer of musicals including "Phantom," "Cats," "Evita" and "Jesus Christ Superstar," among others, is a guest on Friday's "Piers Morgan Tonight." Webber also recalled another legend who had an interest in portraying the Phantom -- Sammy Davis Jr. Webber recalled being introduced to Davis by Liza Minnelli while in the south of France. "I have never felt so ashamed in my life," said Webber, who said he was skeptical about Davis' ability to fill the role at first. "For 2½ hours I heard one of the most consummate performances I've ever heard, and he ended up doing 'The Music of the Night.'" Webber told Morgan he had hoped to get Davis to open the production on the Toronto stage but it did not work out. Webber also told Morgan the story of how "Phantom," which is billed as the most successful musical of all time, came to be. Webber's fiancee at the time, performer Sarah Brightman, had been offered a role in a theatrical farce based on the "Phantom" novel by Gaston Leroux. Several months later, Webber bought a used copy of the novel at a book fair in New York. Today, Webber's musical version of "The Phantom of the Opera" is coming up on its 25th anniversary. A celebration concert in London is planned. The musical that catapulted Webber and lyricist Tim Rice to fame, "Jesus Christ Superstar," was called "blasphemous" when it hit the stage in the 1970s. "We never wrote 'Superstar' to be in any way shocking," said Webber. "We wrote it because we wanted to write the story of the man. And in fact, we really wanted to write a love triangle, because the whole thing was -- did Judas Iscariot have God on his side?" Morgan pointed out the irony of "Jesus Christ Superstar" causing a controversy when "The Book of Mormon" -- a musical that takes a cynical look at faith -- has just won multiple Tonys. Webber also told Morgan that "Superstar's" breakout song, "I Don't Know How to Love Him," was originally entitled "I Long for Kansas Morning." When Morgan suggested that narrative was the key to the longevity of his productions, Webber agreed, and pointed out that "Cats" was a "collection of poems by T.S. Eliot about cats that he wrote for his godchildren. Well, that was quite different, and we stitched them together with a vague story that we discovered that his widow had that he wrote, which was a sort of, forgive the pun, cat's cradle." Webber told Morgan that the moment in his career that remains in his mind the most and that he would re-live if possible is actress Betty Buckley's performance of the song "Memory" on opening night of "Cats" on Broadway. Webber's current project is a stage revival of "The Wizard of Oz." He and lyricist Tim Rice have written several new songs for the production, which will also include the songs from the film. The musical will star Michael Crawford in the title role. A longtime colleague of Webber's, Crawford originated the Phantom role on stage. When Morgan asked Webber why he selected "Oz," and how he knew it would fare well with a modern audience, the composer said, "The trick with those is you've got to find a character to cast that the public knows. "And of course, the role of Dorothy is something that everybody knows. And that's why we started with that. But interestingly with 'Oz,' it's never really worked in the theater before. And we looked at it very carefully, and came to the conclusion that what people had been trying to do was to stage the film, whereas what you really had to do is to go back and rethink it." Webber said if he were casting his all-time "dream" musical, it would star Elvis Presley, but of all the people he's worked with in real life, Glenn Close as Norma Desmond in his production of "Sunset Boulevard" would be the hardest act to follow. Watch Piers Morgan Tonight weeknights 9 p.m. ET. For the latest from Piers Morgan click here. | Andrew Lloyd Webber is working on a stage revival of "The Wizard of Oz"
Webber's musical "The Phantom of the Opera" turns 25 this year .
His song "I Don't Know How to Love Him," was first named "I Long for Kansas Morning" |
242,731 | c62db5c809b3e3c406d90d88bb1bbcf38faefe00 | An hour or so drive from the chaotic and congested streets of downtown Cairo is a very different world. Thousands of pristine new buildings -- many only half-built -- often within gated compounds are surrounded by miles of barren desert. New Cairo is one of a handful of "satellite cities" that are being developed in the desert about 40 kilometers from the city center. The landscape is far from conventionally beautiful, but attracted the attention of a British photographer Jason Larkin who spent two years chronicling the developments. Cairo's satellite cities have been developed on-and-off for 30 years, but a recent building boom has slowed since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak in February. Larkin became interested after the American University of Cairo moved to a new campus in New Cairo in 2008. "I started to hear from students who were alarmed to find themselves in the middle of the desert," he said. "I wanted to look for myself and was struck by the environment. "They were pristine buildings but with completely barren surroundings. You can't get there by public transport. I realized it had so little of what a city needs." Larkin spent two years photographing Cairo's satellite cities and their construction sites. He said: "There were many projects I never saw any work on: Half-finished construction sites where people with big ideas had run out of money. "Others have been halted because of disputes and allegations of corruption over the sale of the land." Larkin added: "Of all the areas I photographed, I would say 80% were not occupied." For centuries, the population of Cairo -- now 10.9 million, according to the CIA World Factbook -- was confined to a narrow strip of fertile land along the River Nile. In 1969 a development plan was launched to expand Greater Cairo into the surrounding deserts, according to a 2009 report by U.N. Habitat, the United Nations agency for human settlements . Mohamed Elshahed, a doctoral student who started a blog, Cairobserver, on the city's architecture and urban planning, has also taken an interest in satellite cities. He said the gated compounds of villas for the wealthy currently being built were opposite to the initial intention of satellite cities. Elshahed said: "The development of satellite cities has gone through several false starts. The initial idea in the 1970s was to respond to the housing crisis and create budget or social housing projects. The problem was that the poorest can't afford to live so far away without transport to bring them to work. "This initial phase was a complete failure and mostly remained vacant. There were further attempts in the 1990s. Now we are seeing a reverse of the initial idea and they are exclusively high-end developments." Ehshahed said the gated compounds were being developed at the expense of preserving the historic city center. "There's no recognition of Cairo's architectural heritage and history," he said. "It's as if we're living in Dubai, but this isn't Dubai, it's a city that's been around for 1,000 years." Elshahed added: "The center of the city is deteriorating and the rich don't want to be there anymore. They can afford to live outside the city and cut themselves off." However, Elshahed said that despite having a combined population estimated at 1.5 million, the satellite cities had failed to ease the overcrowding of Cairo. He said: "The satellite cities are not working for many reasons. The main reason is that a housing bubble was created in the last five-to-eight years without the demand to fill them, leaving a lot of empty homes in the desert. "Plus a lot of people who can afford these types of houses, already have second or third homes, so they are empty most of the time and it does nothing to help the housing crisis. "There has been a government policy that this type of development is a positive sign of progress and is to be encouraged, but that is very superficial because they are not really helping anyone." Elshahed said the main cities with names such as 6 October and 15 May, as well as New Cairo, were each made up of many individual developments, some a further 15 or 20 minutes drive into the desert. Working with the Cairo-based journalist Jack Shenker, Larkin produced a 6,000-word photo essay on satellite cities, called Cairo Divided, in English and Arabic, available for only the cost of postage and packing. "We had 5,000 copies printed and have had phenomenal interest from people interested in urban development, Cairo itself, or global cities generally." | Cairo's satellite cities were first conceived more than 30 years ago to ease overcrowding .
Recently they have become home to exclusive gated compounds, often standing empty .
Photographer Jason Larkin spent two years documenting the developments in a project called Cairo Divided . |
11,649 | 211a3e018f9f58ced959143a12599fed3c7e1a3d | By . Stephen Adams . More A&E departments will have to close for safety reasons as they are weeded out under a tough new hospital inspection regime, the new boss of the health watchdog has admitted. Some hospitals ‘will find it difficult’ to prove their A&Es are up to scratch as they come under renewed scrutiny by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission, the regulator’s chairman David Prior warned. His comments in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday raise the possibility of more fights over closures in the next two years, which could be increasingly difficult for the Government in the run-up to the General Election. Under threat: More A&E departments could have to close for safety reasons under a tough new inspection regime (file picture) Since 2007, eight A&Es across England and Wales have closed and a further 18 are threatened. Many face closure on the premise that centralising services will save lives, but Mr Prior said the public had yet to be convinced. Between now and Christmas the CQC will be going into 18 hospital trusts, which together run 24 A&Es, to undertake thorough inspections. Six of those trusts, which run ten A&Es, have been identified as being at high risk of providing sub-standard care. The CQC wants to have inspected all of England’s 161 major hospital trusts by 2015. Mr Prior thought the CQC’s beefed-up inspection regime, which includes doctors and nurses from elsewhere and patients going into hospitals, would find that some emergency departments were unsafe. Labour last night said the Government was presiding over an ‘unprecedented summer crisis’ in A&E after new figures showed a sharp increase in waiting times. The number of hospital trusts missing the target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours shot up from 38 to 57 – a rise of 50 per cent over last summer. It means that 40 per cent of England’s biggest A&E departments are now missing the target. Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said: ‘Patients are given dates for their long-awaited operations, only to be put back on the waiting list as hospitals grapple with the A&E crisis. ‘David Cameron is presiding over the first summer A&E crisis in living memory.’ ‘This may drive further reconfiguration, driven by patient safety, not driven by financial considerations,’ he said. Some hospitals simply did not have enough senior doctors to provide safe A&E care. ‘If you take A&E, the availability of consultant doctors 24/7 – or for at least 16 hours a day – is really important,’ he added. ‘Now it’s bloody hard for a small hospital to provide that kind of cover, because it’s so expensive. I think the reality is that some smaller A&Es will find it difficult.’ He went on: ‘If we are going to get reconfigurations in the NHS, I think it’s much more acceptable if it’s driven by patient safety and quality, than by financial reasons.’ Among the six ‘high-risk’ trusts to be inspected soon is the Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust in Essex. It runs A&Es at Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes, the latter due to close in 2015. Local councillor Andy Walker, of the Save King George Hospital campaign, said: ‘There is truth in the argument that centralising specialist services for conditions like strokes and heart trauma save lives. 'But there are loads of clinicians who say that for other conditions, particularly among the elderly, speed is vital. These people will need a consultant as soon as possible. I believe there’s still a need for district general hospitals.’ Soon to be inspected: The A&E at Queens Hospital, Romford, is run by the 'high-risk' Barking, havering and Redbridge NHS Trust . Risk of 'financial failure': One of the other 'high-risk' trusts is the London NHS Trust which runs the A&E at Whipps Cross Hospital, pictured . Another of the six ‘high-risk’ trusts is Barts and the London NHS Trust – England’s biggest – which runs three A&Es in East London including one at Whipps Cross Hospital. Barts is losing £2 million a week and is at risk of ‘financial failure’, chief executive Peter Morris said recently. Rumours are circulating among staff that Whipps Cross’s A&E could be axed too, but this has been denied by the trust. On Thursday, Ministers announced that struggling A&Es would get an extra £500 million over two years to help ease some of the pressure, although critics have dismissed the cash injection as a ‘sticking-plaster’ solution. | David Prior CQC chairman says some hospitals will struggle to prove they are up to scratch .
Eight A&Es have closed across England and Wales since 2007 and 18 more have been threatened . |
216,544 | a45a7df13440c8bdab1fdbad2e31087cf5e6eec6 | By . James Nye . A Kentucky teenager is recovering from second-degree burns after he set himself alight after copying a dangerous new trend online dubbed the 'Fire Challenge'. The 15-year-old, who declined to be identified for CBS Affiliate WKYT, poured rubbing alcohol over his chest and filmed himself on Friday. Videos of people doing the same have started appearing online and the teen admitted he was not thinking of the consequences when he decided to imitate them. Suitably chastened: The Kentucky teenager, 15, is pictured here with bandages after his lucky escape after setting himself on fire to satisfy his need to copy the 'Fire Challenge' game that is sweeping the Internet . 'I just poured alcohol on it, and lit it, and it just automatically went and burst,' said the teen to WKYT. 'Unbearable, yea, basically,' the teen said about the pain, according to CBS Cleveland. 'Literally after it got put out it was already blistering, it’s just hard.' Firefighters arrived at the home of the boy's aunt and took to hospital for treatment to severe burns on his chest and abdomen. The lucky teenager said that he had no idea of the likely effects because in the videos he had seen, the person who did the 'fire challenge' never kept the camera running long enough afterwards. Response: Lexington, Kentucky firefighters rushed to help the boy who set himself on fire at his aunt's house . Firefighters in Lexington said they hope others listen and don't try to copy the teenager. 'What they don't show at the end of the videos is the consequences of doing this, getting second and third degree burns,' Lexington Fire Department Captain Chris Harrod said to WKYT. The 'Fire Challenge' is the latest internet phenomenon in the same vein as the the gallon milk and cinnamon challenge. However, while those are relatively safe, this is far more serious. Crazy: The 'Fire Challenge' has seen many upload videos of themselves setting fire to their arms, legs, chest and even genitals . Dangerous: Some undertake the challenge in a shower so that they can douse themselves with water immediately . Videos online reveal a number of young men either using an aerosol canister or alcohol as an accelerant and then light their chest, legs, arms or even genital areas. Most scream and shout as the flames ignite and thrash wildly to put the fire out while friends who are filming laugh out loud. Others undertake the challenge in a shower, with close access to water should they need it. Covered in bandages now, the chastened Kentucky teen told WKYT that he has been left feeling slightly foolish. 'Just watching it and never seeing what ended and just being childish,' said the 15-year-old. 'I don't know, I wasn't thinking really.' the teen admitted to WKYT. The Cinnamon Challenge . The idea of the cinnamon challenge is take put a tablespoon of powdered cinnamon into your mouth and try to swallow it. Water is not allowed. Admittedly humorous videos uploaded online show people trying and failing to complete this challenge. However, doctors have warned not to try it because of the danger of choking due to the drying effect of the powdered spice.The gallon of milk in an hour challenge . Made popular by television show Jackass, the point of this is to drink a gallon of the white stuff in an hour and then not vomit. While obviously disgusting, the seemingly innocent nature of milk had many trying and failing to complete the challenge. While doctors warn that drinking one gallon of anything, including water in a hour is dangerous, most fail the milk challenge because it curdles in the stomach and the body simply needs to expel it. Neknominate . This particular online challenge is prevalent in the United Kingdom and began as a drinking game between two people. The challenge would be to drink a particularly strong alcoholic drink in one go and then ask another person to accept or deny the gauntlet. However, it expanded to include dangerous dares to be done after drinking and at least five deaths in Britain have been reported in Britain as a result of this. | Kentucky teen, who declined to be identified set himself on fire copying latest new online trend .
Suffered second-degree burns to his chest and abdomen and admitted 'I don't know what I was thinking' |
223,685 | ad9fa31269538f8cf27778751c6947160676a9ce | (CNN) -- As many as 100 homes could be affected by flood waters in Wisconsin due to the failure of a 120-year-old sand levee along the Wisconsin River. The levee, near the city of Portage in Columbia County, began to give way Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service's Milwaukee/Sullivan office. Patrick Beghin, a representative of the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center, confirmed to CNN Monday that the levee had in fact failed. "Once the levee completely fails ... it is unknown how far south the flood waters of the Wisconsin River will travel," the Weather Service said Sunday night. Portage Mayor Ken Jahn later told CNN that while the levee hadn't completely broken yet, it had deteriorated. Local prison inmates were being used to help with sandbagging, he said. The levee is located on the south side of the Wisconsin River, just south of Portage. The weather agency urged residents to move to higher ground. Roadways, including parts of Interstate 39, could close. Authorities in Portage worked to evacuate residents as the levee approached imminent failure after heavy rainfall soaked the Midwest last week. An alert sent out by Columbia County Emergency Management (CCEM) on Sunday urged residents near Blackhawk Park to evacuate immediately ahead of the flooding, which is expected to wash out a main road leading to about 150 residences. "Emergency vehicles including police, fire and EMS will not be able to reach residents," the statement said. Kathy Johnson, the deputy director of the county's emergency management department, said Sunday it was unclear how many residents remained in the area. "Anyone in there right now won't be able to come out," she said. A Red Cross shelter was opened at a nearby church to accommodate displaced residents. The river at Portage is now expected to stay above flood stage -- 17 feet -- through Wednesday, Beghin said. Portage won't be considered to be out of danger until the river has dropped below flood levels, he added. Beghin noted that the flooding situation is not as widespread as it was during a similar 1993 flood, even though the river has now crested at a higher level than it did 17 years ago. The Wisconsin River crested around 12 a.m. Monday at 20.56 feet -- roughly 3.5 feet above flood level, according to Beghin and the National Weather Service, putting major pressure on the Caledonia-Lewiston levee system. Forecasts suggest the river at Portage will undergo a second peak in height on Tuesday morning, adding more pressure to the compromised levee. Officials with the Department of Natural Resources have been monitoring the failed levee for days and trying to repair problem areas. But the levee system, built in the 1890s, was constructed from locally available materials -- mostly sand -- "without any engineering design or adherence to any standards," the Natural Resources department said in a statement last week. "This is a 120-year-old relic," Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources spokesman Greg Matthews said Sunday. "It's made of sand. ... A modern levee that our engineers would be familiar with would be constructed of steel and concrete." The levee's failure comes after a week of rainfall that dumped as much as 11 inches of rain in parts of Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota. Portage itself, however, did not receive any of the heavy rain. Floodgates along the Menominee River in Niagara, Wisconsin, were opened in recent days to ease pressure on dams. Video showed a torrent of water gushing from an overflowing dam. "I have never seen the water rage down like it is," CNN iReporter Jason Asselin said. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said Sunday that there's no immediate end in sight to the flooding. "Even though some of these rivers have crested ... keep in mind that they're still in flood, so this is going to be a problem for a couple of days," Jeras said. "Many of these rivers are all going to be dumping into the Mississippi River which then in turn will rise up and we'll see some flooding there, maybe in La Crosse and the Winona areas later in the week." CNN's Don Lemon and Rob Marciano contributed to this report. | NEW: The Wisconsin River at Portage is expected to peak again Tuesday morning .
The levee on the Wisconsin River has now failed, according to a local emergency official .
The aging levee system is under pressure after heavy rainfall last week .
Flooding is expected to continue over the next few days . |
198,966 | 8d9580e00575f208e633ae6cc51b209f3d06205d | (CNN) -- Despite international calls for calm and negotiations, Albania's ruling government continued Saturday to levy sharply-worded rhetoric against its opposition and arrested 113 people following a massive Friday protest that turned violent, state-run media reported. Those arrested were charged with confronting riot police and destroying property during Friday's demonstration in Tirana, a city police spokeswoman told reporters, according to the state-run ATA news agency. Three protesters were killed -- all shot at close range, according to Tirana Military Hospital emergency chief Sami Koceku. The clashes left at least 35 civilians and 27 police hurt, the state-run TVSH network reported. "Yesterday was a terrible day for Albania," U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu said Saturday. "There were no winners. There were only losers." The opposition Socialist Party claimed, on its website, that around 250,000 people had gathered outside Prime Minister Sali Berisha's office to implore him to resign. Some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the more than 1,000 police at the scene, who used water cannon to disperse the crowd. The Socialist Party blamed police for provoking protesters by using the water tanks and tear gas. But on Saturday, Berisha again accused his rival Edi Rama, Tirana's mayor and the Socialist Party head, of spearheading the violence. He claimed that demonstrators were trying to takeover the prime minister's office, parliament and cabinet ministries. "Those behind the putsch and bandits will receive the deserved punishment," he told reporters, according to ATA. "No force in this world can take over the democratic institutions of Albania, a NATO member country." Earlier this month, in an interview quoted in a Socialist Party newsletter, Rama reiterated long-standing claims that Berisha's ruling Democratic Party had rigged the June 2009 election. "Are there any Albanians who have not yet understood that (Berisha) stole the elections in order to rob Albania?" he said. The country's supreme court determined that the elections were valid, and the ballots were burned by the Central Election Commission. The Socialist Party boycotted Albania's parliament between September 2009 and February 2010, according to the U.S. State Department. Reconciliation efforts since then have been unsuccessful, with opposition parties continuing to push hard against the Democrats in alleging corruption. The tensions escalated in the past two weeks, after a former government minister sent the media a secret recording that allegedly documented an illicit back-room deal. In addition to the increasingly pointed, accusatory barbs between Rama and Berisha, personal slurs marred a parliamentary session this week meant to settle governmental changes following the resignation of a minister central to that video. On Friday, Berisha vowed that there would "be no early elections" and that "general elections will be held in 2013," a rebuttal to a proposal being pushed by the opposition . Such entrenched stances, the strong language and Friday's violence came as diplomats outside Albania continued to push for a peaceful solution to a southern European nation's stalemate. Rama, then the nation's president, was the focus of the last such severe unrest in 1997, when angry mobs protested voting irregularities and government-backed Ponzi schemes that plunged Albania into near anarchy. Albania's current president, Bamir Topi, met Saturday with prominent U.S., U.K. and European diplomats. A day earlier, he'd urged all parties to resume talks soon and not to reopen old wounds. "We have repeatedly urged Albania's political leaders to search for compromise," said Arvizu, one of those who met with Topi. "When one side -- or both -- insists on maximalist positions that it knows the other side cannot accept, I'm sorry, that's not compromise. Resolving political differences through street battles is also not compromise, and does not reflect the democratic aspirations of Albanians." "It's time to desist from further provocations," he added. "It's time to stop the mutual recriminations and name-calling." Those remarks echoed similar ones the previous day from the European Union, which has been considering adding Albania as a member. On Saturday, a key member of the EU's parliament said the recent escalation of tensions could hinder that development. "I hope that, in this critical moment, the politicians will show maturity and will engage ... in finding a compromise solution," said Eduard Kukan of Slovakia. Journalist Altin Raxhimi contributed to this report. | Police arrest 113 people after Friday's violent demonstration in Tirana, a spokeswoman says .
Albania's PM has accused the Socialist Party head of targeting him and fomenting violence .
The opposition blames the government and says the PM's party rigged the last election .
The U.S. ambassador retirates calls for compromise to resolve the political stalemate . |
54,573 | 9a9576c91fccc415c2d12ffbcb334ada5321030c | By . Rupert Steiner . PUBLISHED: . 17:46 EST, 30 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:46 EST, 30 May 2012 . Morrisons plans to take on its south of England rivals by wooing shoppers with upmarket ingredients and stylish stores. The Northern-based supermarket firm has announced a drive to expand in the prosperous Home Counties. Its new shops will stock more than 500 types of fresh produce and introduce more sophisticated items stocked by rivals Sainsbury and Waitrose. Expansion drive: Supermarket Morrisons is planning to take on its rivals in the south of England . Stores will sell the fashionable samphire sea vegetable, five types of chilli, purple potatoes and bottles of fine wine costing upwards of £20. It has also started displaying its vegetables on beds of ice and spraying them with mists of water, which it says adds a touch of theatre. The firm, which is Britain’s fourth biggest supermarket chain, has its headquarters in Bradford. Trend: Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips said consumer confidence has fallen dramatically over the past few months . It claims to offer cheaper prices because it owns farms and produces fresh fruit and veg itself, and has traditionally been a big presence closer to its northern roots. Currently Morrisons has only 31 shops within the M25 but it said that 60 per cent of all its new stores will be in the south. It has outlets under development at Weybridge and Croydon in Surrey, and Harrow and Colindale in North London. Chief executive Dalton Philips said consumer confidence dramatically fell over the past few months. ‘We are seeing shoppers skipping meals so they can save cash to feed their children,’ he said. ‘They are hiding treats around the house to ration them through the week, dipping into savings and recycling their clothes. ‘Year on year consumer confidence is worse and disposable income is down – it’s tough out there.’ The business, which claims to offer cheaper prices because it owns farms and produces fresh produce itself, has traditionally been a big player closer to its northern roots. But it now feels the time is right to make its move on the more prosperous south as it fine tunes a new store format it thinks will appeal to a broader cross-section of shoppers. Currently only 15pc of its new stores are in the south and by 2013/14 that will increase to two thirds of the retailer’s 2.5m sq. ft. network of new space. On the menu: The supermarket plans to introduce trendy items like samphire and purple potatoes . It now has stores under development at Weybridge and Croydon in Surrey and Harrow and Colindale in north London. Philips added: ‘The next three years will see a step-change in Morrisons southern presence bringing another 2m households within a 15 minute drive of our stores. ‘We are going to be food-focused, not generalists. We believe that UK grocery has got very functional. ‘Our new format allows us to see how we perform with different demographics, you always carry on tweaking the format but we have an offer that really travels down south.’ | Northern-based supermarket to expand in the prosperous Home Counties . |
86,183 | f47a25cacdf2b9df1cb97031c87e24e215e687ef | A Utah teenager arrested last year in a Columbine-inspired plot to . blow up his high school was eliminated in the race Tuesday for mayor of a . small Utah city. Results released by officials Tuesday evening . showed 18-year-old Joshua Kyler Hoggan received less than 5 percent of . the vote in the primary, preventing him from moving on as a general . election candidate on the ballot in the Roy, Utah, mayoral race. The . current mayor, Joe Ritchie, and Councilman Willard Cragun were the top . vote-getters and move on to face-off in the Nov. 5 general election. Joshua Kyler Hoggan, seen here at age 16, says he's rehabilitated and ready to lead the city of 37,000 people . Hoggan says he recognizes what he did was wrong but insists that he . never had any explosives or intent to bomb the school in early 2012 . when he and an older classmate were arrested. He says his six months in . juvenile detention helped him deal with personal issues that plagued him . then and says that he's rehabilitated and ready to lead the city of . about 37,000 people north of Salt Lake City. 'People should trust . me because I have proven one thing: That I am human,' Hoggan said in an . email to The Associated Press. 'I have made mistakes, just like the rest . of us. We've all made mistakes in our pasts, and I am no exception.' He . faced off in Tuesday's primary against the current mayor, Joe Ritchie, . and Councilman Willard Cragun. Most consider Hoggan a long shot to get . through the nonpartisan primary, in which voters will choose two of the . three to advance to the general election. Ritchie has been mayor for . eight years and Cragun a councilman for six years. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Hoggan . pleaded guilty in 2012 to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Police said that Hoggan, then 16, and an older classmate at Roy High . School spent months plotting an attack inspired by the 1999 Columbine . shootings. Hoggan even visited with the Columbine principal about the . shootings and security measures. Their plan included a detailed . plot, school blueprints and a plan to fly away after the bombing, said . investigators who never found a bomb. A classmate tipped . authorities to the plot after receiving text messages from Hoggan, who . bragged that he planned to steal a plane from a nearby airport. The boy . had logged hundreds of hours on a flight simulator program to prepare. His classmate, Dallin Morgan, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and . was given a 105-day jail sentence. Hoggan's plan to destroy the school was inspired by the mass-shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. where two students (pictured) killed 13 people . Ritchie, mayor since 2006, said . Hoggan has every right to be on the ballot but he questions his motives . and whether he's truly rehabilitated. He said many in Roy are still . shaken by Hoggan's bombing plan and are perplexed why he's in the race. 'I'm not so sure how sincere he is,' said Ritchie, who has never met Hoggan. 'I think he's in it for the notoriety.' Asked if he thinks Hoggan has a chance to win, Ritchie said, 'I sure hope not.' But . Hoggan likes his chances, predicting that he'll get through the . primary. He just completed his first semester at Weber State University . in Ogden, where he is studying political science with hopes to have a . career in the political realm. Hoggan said he was misguided in . high school. His meeting with the Columbine principal was for research . for an article about school security for his high school newspaper, he . said. Roy High School officials knew about the meeting prior to him . traveling to Colorado, he said. Columbine killer Eric Harris and friend Dylan Klebold planned the attack on Columbine High School for months before carrying it out . Dylan Klebold (pictured) and Harris committed suicide after killing 13 people and wounding dozens more at Columbine High School in 1999 . He didn't seek out the attention . that has come with his bid for mayor, he said, but seized the . opportunity to let residents get to know him better. 'Many people . still have serious questions about me that need answered,' Hoggan wrote . in the email. 'I think that, if nothing else, the citizens of Roy City . used a valuable opportunity to have their concerns addressed.' | Joshua Hoggan and a friend planned to detonate a bomb at their high school and then get away in a stolen airplane .
The plot was inspired by the attack on Columbine High School, when two students murdered 13 people .
Hoggan even visited with the principal of Columbine High School to talk about security measures . |
31,862 | 5aae7dc707f7fcd3192874a019b68b2f58a1c6dd | It has become a craze with humans, and even pets have been getting in on the act. And now, it seems, even wild fish have been infected with photobombing, judging from these pictures of Gavin, who has become the main attraction for divers near Green Island, off Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The bright yellow and blue parrotfish loves nothing better than getting his toothy grin in people's pictures as tourists pose with him in his underwater world. Scroll down for video . Poser: Gavin, a parrot fish, loves nothing more than sidling up to divers for pictures in the Great Barrier Reef . Smiiiiile: Gavin proves that photobombing isn't the preserve of humans as he swims up for another underwater picture . Too close for comfort? This girl looks slightly unnerved as Gavin flashes his big white teeth but he is harmless . Say cheese: Gavin strikes again and poses for another photo. The brightly-coloured fish spends about six hours a day making mischief with tour parties . Photobombing is genuinely considered to ruin people's pictures but, as these snaps reveal, tourists are delighted when he becomes part of their holiday memories. Karl Kuhle, general manager for Seawalker Australia, said grinning Gavin had become something of a celebrity. He said: 'Gavin's been around for a couple of years now, and he looks forward to coming over and grinning his lovely little head off at all our guests. 'He does seem to actually swim up for his photo, and with a free feed on offer and gorgeous females for company, who wouldn't be smiling? 'Seriously though, in some photos he seems to have less of a grin than others, but I reckon he's still having a ball.' Centre of attention: Gavin loves stealing the limelight but is equally happy playing with his mates once the tours have packed up for the day . Pucker: Some might say Gavin has a bit of a narcissistic streak as he sidles up for another snap . Karl said the diving tours operate within the guidelines of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to ensure conservation. Bluebarred parrotfish like Gavin grow up to 1m-long and to 6.5kg in weight. Their teeth in both jaws are fused into a parrot-like peak. Adults normally swim alone and feed by scraping algae from the reef and coral. Gavin and his species are vital to the reef-building process because they crush rubble and dead coral into sand as they feed. He said: 'We feed less than 1kg of approved fish food per day to the hundreds of fish that like Gavin, enjoy meeting Seawalker guests. 'Our staff do the feeding, not the guests, but they get to enjoy watching him come up and grin into their faces as he swipes a little feed. 'I would realistically expect that from a conservation viewpoint there is little difference , regulations help ensure this, by our presence in the water. 'We operate for less than six hours a day, so Gav and his mates are off elsewhere or just hanging around for the other 18 or so hours.' | Fish can't resist hijacking divers' photographs by the Great Barrier Reef . |
238,145 | c03874fb8b832c82a6a85fc1571b3af0e5a52701 | By . Emma Reynolds . PUBLISHED: . 04:13 EST, 3 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:06 EST, 3 October 2012 . Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson received a £3.2million payout from the production company he started before selling his stake to BBC Worldwide, it has emerged. The BBC's highest paid star then landed up to £15million from the sale of his 30 per cent stake in Bedder 6. The company was a joint project with BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial wing, which has now taken full control of the 50 per cent share that was split between Clarkson and Top Gear producer Andy Wilman. Wheels on fire: Clarkson and his co-stars James May, left, and Richard Hammond have signed up for another three years presenting the popular TV motoring show . Clarkson's share previously furnished the wealthy star with a hefty annual dividend - the most recent coming to £2.7million, up from £1.8m the previous year. He was also paid a talent fee of £456,000, an increase of 30 per cent on his £350,000 fee last year, according to Company House accounts seen by the Daily Telegraph. Lucrative: The firm gave Clarkson a £2.7m dividend last year, on top of his talent fee as one of the BBC's highest paid stars and the money from his books and other ventures . Bedder 6 was set up five years ago with the intention of exploiting the programme’s global brand. Clarkson has just signed a lucrative new deal to continue presenting BBC 2's popular motoring show for three more years alongside James May and Richard Hammond. Top Gear has been one of Worldwide’s . biggest moneyspinners and Bedder 6 has had huge success from merchandise, book and DVD sales, show tours and international sales rights. Clarkson is now likely to be paid a fixed annual £500,000 talent fee by the broadcaster up until 2015. A spokesman for BBC Worldwide said: 'BBC . Worldwide has agreed new commercial deals with Jeremy, James, Richard . and Andy to secure Top Gear’s international future for another three . years. 'This agreement secures the commercial . future of Top Gear without using a penny of licence fee money and allows . us to continue to grow the brand around the world, reinvest in Top Gear . and return profits to the BBC.' Clarkson and Wilman went to the same prestigious private school in Repton, Derbyshire, where they were two years apart, before working together on various TV projects including Top Gear. The name Bedder 6 is believed it is a pun on 'better sex' - a reference to an in-joke about one of the dormitories at Wilman and Clarkson's former school. The often controversial star caused particular outrage when it emerged that he earned £3m in the year to March because of his stake in Bedder 6,which made pre-tax profits of £15.2m and is estimated to be worth more than £50m. He is also a weekly columnist for the Sunday Times and has become a prolific book writer, mainly of best-selling collections of his columns. He is also in demand on the after dinner speaker circuit, where he can command at least £20,000 a time. The 52-year-old lives in the Cotswolds, where he has become a member of 'the Chipping Norton set', and owns a £1.2m lighthouse holiday home in an Isle of Man beauty spot, set in about 40 acres of coastland. However, the 52-year-old told a BBC interviewer in 2009: 'I'm literally not the slightest bit interested in money. I just don't pay any attention to money, it's rather vulgar.' Top Gear's success has a lot to do with Jeremy Clarkson's unique writing and presenting style, but the outspoken 52-year-old has run into plenty of controversy along the way. In November 2008 he made a joke about how tough it is to change gear in a lorry - and linked it to the Suffolk Strangler Stephen Wright, who murdered sex workers in Ipswich. Clarkson (pictured right) said: 'Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That’s a lot of effort in a day.' In February 2009, Clarkson famously called then-prime minister Gordon Brown a 'one-eyed Scottish idiot'. A year later he illustrated dangerous driving conditions with a joke about a woman in a burka wearing a red G-string, which was branded 'distasteful'. Spin doctor Alastair Campbell revealed on his blog in the same month that in an un-aired comment Clarkson was asked by him about gay rights and he replied, 'I demand the right not to be bummed.' In other gaffes he compared a Ferrari to a person with special needs, called Mexicans 'lazy', 'feckless' and 'flatulent', said long queues at airport control could be solved by 'a bit of racism' and was caught parking in a disabled driver bay while filming - receiving large numbers of complaints. Earlier this year he compared a Japanese car to the Elephant Man and people with 'growths on their faces'. The BBC Trust’s editorial standards committee this week gave him another slap on the wrist for the scripted remarks, ruling that he had 'strayed into an offensive stereotypical assumption'. Probably his most shocking moment came on The One Show, where he said that striking public sector workers 'should be shot in front of their families'. Clarkson was forced to apologise and the regulator launched an investigation after his remark sparked around 31,700 complaints. He was later cleared. | Received £2.7million from the firm last year .
Its name - Bedder 6 - is said to be a pun on 'better sex'
He and his co-presenters have just signed three-year deal with Top Gear .
Controversial Clarkson also makes money from books, columns and talks . |
169,275 | 6705024a4a6ebd506d331da30d6aeb8a114f7839 | Two schoolgirls survived being buried alive when a section of cliff collapsed on them as they walked on a beach. The friends were saved by a group of three men who dug them out with their bare hands after a 10-year-old boy raised the alarm. The girls are believed to have been trying to climb the 30ft tall shallow sandy cliff face when it suddenly collapsed at Hemsby beach, Norfolk. Rescue: Kenny Chaney, 66, who helped to dig out the schoolgirls after a section of cliff collapsed on them at Hemsby beach, Norfolk . One girl aged about 12 was buried up to her neck at the base of the cliff while her nine-year-old friend was trapped up to her chest six feet up. The incident happened around four miles away from where Paige Anderson, 15, was buried when a tunnel she was digging collapsed last August. Retired fisherman Kenny Chaney, 66, and two holidaymakers frantically dug the girls out after they were buried on Good Friday. The coastguard and fire service were alerted but the girls were dug out before they arrived. The girls are thought to have been staying at a nearby holiday park. They were playing alone on the beach when around 30 tonnes of sand collapsed. Mr Chaney, who was metal detecting nearby, said: 'They were very lucky not to have been killed. They could easily have suffocated in the sand if it had gone over their heads. 'A family were apparently walking along the beach and saw the cliff coming down. They must have heard the girls screaming and went over to help. 'I didn’t hear or see it happen, but a boy aged about ten in this family group ran to get me and said "Two girls have been buried in an avalanche". 'I raced over to help these two other men. We were all digging at the sand with our hands to get them out. 'I had a little spade with me, but I didn’t want to risk using it in case I injured them. It was a difficult job because more sand was pouring down the cliff as we dug the sand out from around them. Rescue: The girls are believed to have been clambering up the sandy cliff face, which is around 30ft tall, when it fell in on them . 'The girls were panicking and freaking out. They didn’t know if they were going to get out alive. One girl was buried up to her neck and the other up to her chest. 'I was worried that the whole lot was going to come down on all of us. It was pretty vertical there and there’s a lot of weight in it. We were all drawing out the sand with our bare hands. 'It felt a long while when I kept digging and the sand kept collapsing in. I just put my two hands together and kept scooping it out. 'They were very lucky they didn’t get completely buried or nobody would have seen them.' Mr Chaney said the girls appeared ‘deeply shocked’, but had no other apparent injury. He said: 'We lay them down on the beach after we pulled them out. They were both completely freaking out.' An adult turned up a short while later who is believed to be one of their fathers. Three fire engines, two ambulances and local lifeboat men arrived on the scene just minutes after the terrified girls had been pulled from the sand. They did not need hospital treatment. Ross Hewitt, coxswain of Hemsby Lifeboat, issued a warning about the dangers of playing around cliffs. He said: 'The major risk is death. Luckily for the girls, there was someone on the beach, but apart from them there was nobody else. 'They could have been stuck there for who knows how long. 'It’s an important message we’ve got to get out and we will be speaking to the council about getting warning signs by the cliffs. It’s something I feel is lacking. We want to keep the beach busy and keep it safe.' | 'The girls were panicking and freaking out. They didn't know if they were going to get out alive'
Schoolgirls, 12, and 9, were apparently trying to climb the cliff face .
Kenny Chaney, 66, and two other men helped to dig the girls out . |
248,714 | cdd164bf9c517a9cb5864c712a9f2943a027ef1f | By . This Is Money Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 07:28 EST, 8 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:18 EST, 8 March 2013 . Comments (102) Share . DM.has('shareLink', 'shareLinks', { . 'id': '2290167', . 'title': 'Barclays pays 428 bankers at least £1m each - but half of staff earn less than £25,000', . 'url': 'http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290167/Barclays-pays-428-bankers-1m--half-staff-earn-25-000.html', . 'eTwitterStatus': 'Barclays%20pays%20428%20bankers%20at%20least%20%C2%A31m%20each%20-%20but%20half%20of%20staff%20earn%20less%20than%20%C2%A325,000%20http:\/\/bit.ly\/ZwCUPv%20via%20@MailOnline' }); . Barclays paid 428 bankers more than £1 million in 2012, despite suffering a torrid year in which the bank's chief executive Bob Diamond and its chairman Marcus Agius were forced to resign after Barclays was fined £290million for rigging Libor interest rates. The number of staff paid over £1 million was down from 473 in 2011, according to new disclosures in its annual report released on Friday. Barclays said five staff were paid over £5million last year, down from 17 people in 2011. A further 50 were paid between £2.5million and £5million in 2012, and 373 staff were paid between £1million and £2.5million. Bank bonanza: Over 400 Barclays bank staff have received bonuses of more than £1million this year that bank has disclosed. The pay included salary, bonus and the value of long-term share awards. While more than 400 workers picked up . more than £1 million, there were more than 71,500 staff who received . less than £25,000 last year. Employees picked up an average £13,000 in bonuses, with investment bankers taking £54,100 on average. Chief . Executive Antony Jenkins was paid £2.6million, including £1.8million for his time as CEO from 30th August. He said last month he would . forgo his bonus in the wake of the Libor rate fixing scandal and subsequent fine. Jenkins had previously been the head of retail and business banking. The pay details will stoke controversy . after the bank recently reported pre-tax profits plunging to £246million . from £5.9billion in 2011 following a scandal-hit year which saw it pay . £290 million for its Libor rigging settlement and £2.5 billion to cover . mis-selling claims. Barclays also faced allegations that it lent the Qatari royal family the money they invested in the bank at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. At the time Barclays was hailed as one of the few British banks that did not need to be rescued by the taxpayer. Finance chief Chris Lucas is under . investigation over fess paid as part of the 2008 emergency fund-raising in the Middle . East along with several other current and former Barclays executives. The . bank revealed the pay bands for all its 145,000 staff, following . through on a promise by new chairman David Walker to provide greater . transparency on pay. The total number of Barclays employees earning more than £5million dropped from 17 to 5 from 2011 to 2012 (Source: Barclays) The report also confirmed that former . Barclays' boss Bob Diamond - who quit last summer in the wake of the . bank's Libor-fixing settlement - will continue to be paid salary and . pension until July. He stepped down last summer, but . remains entitled to an annual salary of £1.4 million and £675,000 a year . cash in lieu of pension. The new management team has pledged to address . cultural problems at Barclays after criticism it was too aggressive and . took too much risk in the past, but has admitted rebuilding the bank and . its reputation could take 5-10 years. Still on the payroll: Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond . Barclays also said it reduced its 2012 bonus pool by £860 million for Libor rigging and mis-selling, while it clawed back an additional £300 million in previous awards and long-term incentives for the Libor scandal. A potential £3.3 billion bonus pool was also reduced by a further £250 million to better align its pay in the market, although it still shared out a total incentives pot worth £2.2 billion. Sir John Sunderland, head of Barclays' remuneration committee, said in the report: ‘I hope that 2012 will be seen as a turning point in the way Barclays approaches remuneration.’ He added the committee will continue to focus on overhauling pay and bonus practices across the bank over the coming months. Mr Jenkins, who announced he would waive his annual bonus for 2012 in January, is leading a crusade to overhaul the culture and ethics at Barclays. As part of his restructure at the bank, he last month announced plans to axe at least 3,700 jobs. He is shutting the bank's controversial Structured Capital Markets tax advisory division, with 1,800 jobs being cut in corporate and investment banking and another 1,900 across its European retail and business arm under plans to slash costs by £1.7 billion. Around 1,600 investment banking jobs have already gone, but few of the overall staff cuts will have an impact on its UK workforce. | Five staff paid over £5million each and a further 50 earn between £2.5 and £5million .
Chief executive Antony Jenkins receives £2.6million .
Pay disclosed as part of transparency drive . |
142,421 | 442bf56340ed80a57ffc8a6cc28bf27e8968c1e7 | Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- The stands around the boxing ring were mostly empty and the bout was a mere three-round exhibition fight, but Dlandy Regalado Ajete battled as if a title was on the line. "If you want to be a great boxer in Cuba," he said, moments after being declared the winner, "you have to be willing to work hard and sacrifice." Regalado's drive isn't unique for Cuba. Boxing, along with baseball, is a passion that runs deep for many of the island's 11 million inhabitants. And despite Cuba's small population, the country has been a consistent force to be reckoned with at the Olympic Games, winning 32 gold medals in the sport. Three of those golds went to Cuban boxing legend Teofilo Stevenson. Now 60 years old, Stevenson has lost the quickness in his step and he carries the scars of years of battle in the ring. But his eyes still light up when he discusses the sport that made him a household name around the world. "Cubans like to box because of our temperament," Stevenson said, with a smile creeping across his lips. "Because of our idiosyncrasies and because we have needed to know how to defend ourselves." After the 1950s Cuban revolution, boxing was briefly banned by the country's new leaders. But then -- like all sports-- it fell under the control of the government. Today that remains the case as there are no professional sports in Cuba. In the 1960s, boxing trainers -- many of them Soviet -- were brought into work with fledgling talent such as Stevenson. Cuban boxers' amateur status let them compete in the Olympics, but not on the high profile --and high paying -- professional fight circuit. Stevenson famously turned a million-dollar offer to fight Muhammad Ali. Other Cuban fighters have chosen a different path, defecting and earning the huge purses not available to them in their home country. Despite those losses, Cuba's boxing commissioner Alberto Puig says there is a deep talent pool to draw from. "Our strength comes from the heart, from patriotism," he said. "Our boxers may not have a million dollars but they have 11 million Cubans who support them." Puig said despite the country's legacy of great boxers, he expected countries like Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to provide strong competition at the 2012 Olympics in London. He believes Cuba's advantage comes from the government's ability to identify and cultivate emerging talent at a young age. "We can say with total certainty that in the farthest corner of Cuba if there's a talented boxer we know about him and are following his progress," he said. "So that maybe one day he might join our national team." The Rafael Trejo boxing gym in Havana is one of the places where young boxers receive that encouragement from a young age. The students receive lessons as early as eight years old in the gym's open-air ring. While the facilities are threadbare, the instruction they receive is world class. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Hector Vinent Charon runs the gym, teaching the children how to throw and take a punch. "What makes Cubans different is the intelligence that we fight with," he said, "Our aggression, our tactics and the way we move." Vinent said most of the children at the Trejo are boxing as an after-school activity. They will pick up the basics of boxing and confidence while never achieving greatness in the ring. Boxing teaches them skills, he said, they can use in their everyday life. "We teach them the elements of boxing but also patriotism," he said. "How you act in the classroom or on the street. It's not just boxing." Vinent is looking for young fighters with drive and something to prove. Because there among the gangly youths bobbing and weaving in his classes, Vinent said, could very well be Cuba's next champion of the ring. | Boxing is a passion in Cuba, rivaling baseball as the country's national sport .
Professional sport is outlawed in Cuba, but the country still produces world-class boxers .
Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson won three golds between 1972 and 1980 .
The men's boxing event at London 2012 begins at London's Excel center on July 28 . |
254,742 | d5c163bd4429d316881613b2952ace9366090d38 | An eccentric Australian businessman who is contesting this weekend’s general election claimed today that Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife Wendi Deng is a Chinese spy ‘and that’s why Rupert got rid of her.’ Multi-millionaire Clive Palmer, 59, renowned for his plans to construct a replica of the Titanic in conjunction with a Chinese company and for his dreams of creating an animated Jurassic Park in Queensland, also said today that he was planning to sue Mr Murdoch. He was furious about an article in a Murdoch newspaper, The Australian, which questioned his wealth and whether he was a university professor and a mining magnate, as he claims. Claims: Clive Palmer, an eccentric Australian businessman who is contesting this weekend's general election claimed today that Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife Wendi Deng is a Chinese spy 'and that's why Rupert got rid of her' In his attack on Mr Murdoch he did not exclude the media magnate’s former wife, Miss Deng - who will be remembered for her defence of her husband when she prevented a protester from smashing a pie into his face during the hacking inquiry before the House of Commons Select Committee in July 2011. ‘You know Rupert Murdoch’s wife Wendi Deng is a Chinese spy and that’s been right across the world,’ he claimed during an interview on the Channel Nine tv network. ‘She’s been spying on Rupert for years, giving money back to Chinese intelligence. Outspoken: Multi-millionaire Clive Palmer, 5 also said today that he was planning to sue Mr Murdoch . Standing by her man: Wendi Deng (wearing pink jacket) is famous for punching the man who threw a pie at her husband's face during a parliamentary committee hearing . ‘She was trained in southern China. I’m telling you the truth. ‘Wendi Deng is a Chinese spy and that’s why Rupert got rid of her.’ Along with his claims, Mr Palmer, who . insists his Palmer United Party will win ‘a lot of Senate seats and a . lot of House of Representative seats’ in the upcoming election, said he . was going ahead with his determination to sue Mr Murdoch for the article . attacking his credibility. Outlandish: Mr Palmer is renowned for his plans to construct a replica of the Titantic in conjunction with a Chinese company and for his dreams of creating an animated Jurassic Park in Queensland . The Australian newspaper said that ‘contrary to the flim-flam and spin, Clive Frederick Palmer is not a professor, not an adviser to the G20, not a mining magnate, not a legal guru and not an advocate for freedom of speech. He’s probably not a billionaire.’ He accused Australian-born Mr Murdoch, who is now a US citizen, of ordering his reporters what to write and said the media magnate needed to be brought to account. ‘Murdoch will be sued by me today and will be brought to Australia to answer these questions in the Supreme Court,’ he told the Seven Network. ‘It’s time this fellow was brought to account, this foreigner who tries to dictate what we do.’ | Multi-millionaire Clive Palmer, 59, made the claims on a television show .
'She’s been spying on Rupert for years,' Mr Palmer claimed .
Palmer is renowned for his plans to construct a replica of the Titanic .
He is planning to sue Murdoch for a newspaper article about his health . |
254,705 | d5b21d87e07a06dbfa538c1f27c8962fc01f06ce | Abbottabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Osama bin Laden was not armed but did put up resistance when U.S. forces stormed a compound outside Islamabad and killed him, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. Carney, reading a narrative drawn up by the Defense Department, provided new details of the events that transpired early Monday when 25 U.S. Navy SEALs in two Black Hawk helicopters landed outside the compound in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad. "They had to breach through walls," CIA Director Leon Panetta, who commanded the mission and was in contact with the 25 commandos as it unfolded, told PBS. Live blog: Bin Laden operation . There were no armed guards around the compound, said a U.S. official who asked not to be identified because the official was not authorized to speak on the record. In an operation that lasted nearly 40 minutes, the SEALs -- working in two groups -- methodically cleared the compound, where three families were living, Carney said. One group went to a separate building in the compound; the other to the three-story building housing a family on the first floor and bin Laden and his family on the second and third floors, Carney said. On the first floor of bin Laden's building, two al Qaeda couriers were killed, as was a woman who was caught in the crossfire, Carney said. Bin Laden killing caps decade-long manhunt . Continuing their ascent to the second and third floors, the commandos found bin Laden and his wife, both of whom were unarmed, in a room, Carney said. "She rushed one of the U.S. assaulters and was shot in the leg but not killed," he said. "Bin Laden was then shot and killed." The U.S. official said bin Laden was shot when he made a threatening move. In all, said the U.S. official who sought anonymity, five of the approximately two dozen people in the compound were killed -- the two couriers, the woman, bin Laden and his son. Officials have not publicly identified everyone who was in the compound. Materials taken from the compound included 10 hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices, such as disks, DVDs and thumb drives, a senior U.S. official told CNN Tuesday. Navy SEALs, "the quiet professionals" That material is being reviewed, said John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser. In his first public comments on the raid, Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday declared the operation "lawful, legitimate and appropriate in every way." U.S. officials have said they might release a post-mortem photo taken of bin Laden. There are "a lot to choose from," and most are "very graphic," a senior government official said. What photos could show . The officials have said DNA matching shows bin Laden was killed. But the Taliban have questioned the assertion. "Obama has not got any strong evidence that can prove his claim over killing of the Sheikh Osama bin Laden," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahed said. "And secondly, the closest sources for Sheikh Osama bin Laden have not confirmed" the death, he added. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement Tuesday saying that members of bin Laden's family were "in safe hands and being looked after in accordance with law. Some of them needing medical care are under treatment in the best possible facilities. As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin." The jubilation in many parts of the world over bin Laden's killing gave way Tuesday to increasing questions about how the world's most-wanted terrorist could have hidden in a populated area two miles from the prestigious Kakul military academy, the West Point of Pakistan. "How did bin Laden stay at that compound for about six years or so and be undetected?" Brennan asked. "What type of support did he have outside of that compound in the Abbottabad area or more broadly within Pakistan? We're going to look carefully at this and get to the bottom of it all." Raid sparks questions: Is Pakistan doing enough? The mission took place without Pakistani leadership being informed beforehand, U.S. officials said. "It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission," Panetta told Time magazine. "They might alert the targets." However, Brennan insisted that "Pakistan has been a strong partner in the effort to destroy al Qaeda." In a Washington Post column, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed satisfaction "that the source of the greatest evil of the new millennium has been silenced, and his victims given justice" and defended his country's actions. "Some in the U.S. press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing. Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn't reflect fact," Zardari wrote. Time magazine: CIA chief on why Pakistan wasn't told . The foreign ministry called bin Laden's death "an important milestone in the fight against terrorism," but also expressed "deep concerns" about the fact that U.S. officials failed to notify the government of Pakistan prior to the attack. "This event of unauthorized unilateral action cannot be taken as a rule," the statement said. "Such actions undermine cooperation and may also sometime constitute (a) threat to international peace and security." The senior Pakistani intelligence official who spoke Tuesday to CNN said, "Yes, we did fail to locate him. Yes, we are embarrassed. But that does not mean we are incompetent and straddling the fence." U.S. anticipates al Qaeda threats . The compound where bin Laden was holed up was surrounded by walls 10 to 18 feet tall and topped by barbed wire. It sat far from a main road, secluded. How al Qaeda and its adherents will be affected remains an open question. "Leadership in al Qaeda tends to be replaced," former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN Tuesday. "I expect there will be someone who will step up." Rumsfeld, who was in office during the September 11 attacks, praised Bush administration policies that came under heated criticism. Noting that tracking one of bin Laden's trusted couriers led the United States to identify bin Laden's location, Rumsfeld defended the Bush administration's practice of detaining low-level people, a practice that critics derided as unwarranted. "It is those individuals that know the habits and locations of the senior people," he said. No obvious successor to bin Laden . Rumsfeld also stood by the use of waterboarding, which the Obama administration has outlawed as torture. Rumsfeld said the information taken from three people who were waterboarded and passed on to then-CIA Director Michael Hayden proved to be "enormously valuable." However, White House spokesman Carney said Monday's events had not changed Obama's opposition to so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. Panetta said he too saw no need for a return to using such techniques. "Obviously, there was some valuable information that was derived through those kinds of interrogations, but I guess the question that everybody will always debate is whether or not those approaches had to be used in order to get the same information," he told CBS News. "And that, frankly, is an open question." CNN's Nic Robertson, Ted Barrett, Nick Paton Walsh, Elise Labott, Mary Snow, Allan Chernoff, Jeanne Meserve, Pam Benson, Brian Todd, Barbara Starr, Suzanne Kelly, Jessica Yellin and John King contributed to this report. | Attorney general declares the operation "lawful, legitimate and appropriate in every way"
Bin Laden was not armed when he was shot and killed, White House spokesman says .
A woman believed to be bin Laden's wife was shot in the leg, Carney says . |
108,280 | 17a1d41c9e2fe02d44b268dea4b8fd34cad3eff7 | By . Ashley Pearson . Father's Day can be a bit tricky. First of all men always seem harder to buy for and this year I am determined to avoid the whole tie, cufflinks, socks and whiskey thing. Adding to the pressure, it's my husband's first Father's Day as a qualifier and I want it to be really special. As for the whole gifting process, the two non-lingerie arenas certain to exite him, electronics and power tools, I have utterly abandoned as I always seem to get it wrong, spending far too much money on contraptions that seem massively useful to me but are met with pretend enthusiasm and fake smiles. Give Dad a real surprise this Father's day by getting him something other than cufflinks! Thus I have compiled a useful guide if like me; you still have some shopping to do: . A Baby Gadget He Will Actually LOVE . A car seat that turns into a pushchair in 10 seconds? Be the first dad on the block to own the brand new Doona. It's the first car seat ever to transform into a travel system in less than ten seconds (7 clicks). It also fits down the aisle of an aeroplane. Suitable for newborns up to 13kgs. It's availlable for pre-order from Mamas & Papas July 1st. £299 . The new Doona from Mamas & Papas transforms from a car seat to a pushchair in 10 seconds . For the Father Who Looks After Himself . Knightsbridge based facialist Linda Meredith looks after some rather yummy Fathers such as Colin Firth, Rupert Penry Jones and Trevor Eve. This year for Father's Day she has created a Gentleman's Collection, comprised of three select products designed to clean and hydrate and are ideally suited to a man's skin. www.lindameredith.com £69 . Colin Firth and Rupert Perry Jones are known fans of Linda Meredith . The Back Rub you never have time for . Two words: Gel Shiatsu. That kind of sold it for me. This is a back and shoulder massager that promises a smooth but effective ride. Deep kneading HoMedics gel shiatsu massage relieves tight knots and it has a programmable remote control. Pricey but…..wow. £249.99 available from www.Amazon.co.uk . Give him a truly relaxing Father's Day with the HoMedics gel shiatsu massager . Family Pictures that Look Good . No good pictures of everyone all together? Flytographer is new to the UK and is set up so that anyone can have professional looking family photos that don't look boring. You book online and a photographer meets you at whatever location you want. The group can be surreptitiously snapped having a walk by the river, during an afternoon game of football or even having a family lunch. Flytographer's team have shot for publications like Vogue and Harpers' so they know how to find your good side. Once booked, you're assigned a shoot concierge to manage and organise. Available in 70 cities worldwide including North and South America, Europe, Asia and Ausralia. A 30 minute shoot with the photographer is £150. www.flytographer.com . Make this Father's Day one to remember with a professional Flytographer photo shoot . The Face Saver . Something he can use every day – and besides, what's sexier than a close shave? Braun CoolTecshaver, uses some kind of fancy cooling technology (they call it a mini fridge) inside the shaving head to cool the skin. This reduces irritation and adds a little technology (gadget alert!) to the mundane. The best part, they are offering half price between now and Father's Day. £115 (regular RRP: £230) Available at Boots www.boots.com . The Braun CoolTech shaver helps to reduce irritation for a super smooth shave . From Baby . The Piggy Bank friendly option. Yes, my name is Ashley and I love Poundland. This year the bargain giant have some sweet frames and coffee mugs that say fantastically cheesy things like World's Greatest Dad. Perfect to dad from baby. And at £1 you certainly can't complain about the price. For a pocket money budget try Poundland for some sweet Father's Day gifts . For Baby . As the baby grows he or she will more often than not be carried by dad. I love the new i-angel carrier which has a really unusual and kind of unique seat on it. The baby actually sits on it rather than hanging freestyle. The carrier can be used in front or as a back pack. It alters the weight distribution to help dad's back and make for a comfy ride – it also protects against hip dysplasia. Works from birth until 3 years old. £89.99 www.dinkydragon.co.uk . Sporty Dad . I'm not wading into all the World Cup memorabilia on offer, because to be honest it feels completely overwhelming, like shopping at the Marble Arch Primark on a Saturday. But if he is a football fan and you know his team, this gift is fun. A personalised football from www.yoursportsid.com, a website that allows you to personalise a selection of Premiership footballs. You can choose their colours and use the 3D tool to rotate the football adding a name and a Happy Father's Day. £14.95 . A personalised makes the perfect gift for a footy mad dad! Posh Leather . I have struck out twice now on wallets for my husband. Apparently some men are fussy about what they do with their coins. I think I've cracked it this year. The Financial Times has commissioned luxury leather goods brand, Dom Reilly to create some high quality travel gear and I love the travel wallet. It's pricey at £195 but I think it's sure to please. It even has a hint of 'FT pink' in the lining. www.ft.com/domreilly . Ashley thinks she has finally found the perfect wallet for her man . Everyone likes a good read . This pretty fancy and is about as far into ‘tech' gear as I go. Kindle Fire HDX has all kinds of amazing features I didn't completely understand but I did note the HD camera and reduced glare for reading in the sun. It's light and has a Mayday button which puts you in touch with an Amazon expert to help you with anything, 24/7, 365 days a year. You can watch movies on it and it has all-day battery life. The 7" Kindle Fire HDX is £199. The 4G version is £269 www.amazon.co.uk . The Kindle Fire HDX features a HD camera and reduced glare for reading in the sun . Be Good to Yourself . If he still can't quit cigarettes, how about a pointed hint. A recent study showed that smokers are 60% more likely to kick the habit with the help of an e-cig. Furthermore, electronic cigarettes don't emit anything other than vapour, so they can be used around a baby. A recent study for the UK Department of Health has shown that 98% of children whose parent smokes wishes that they would quit. Damien Scott, from Gamucci, one of the UK's E-cigarette brands said: 'We would like to encourage more fathers to kick the habit this Father's Day. We would love to hear the stories of fathers who are dedicated to going smoke free for their kids, using the hashtag #QuittingforKids.' To buy see www.gamucci.com . Ashley suggests giving your dad an incentive to quit this Father's Day . The Gift that Will Knock his socks off! An events and experience company in the UK is providing the ultimate Father's Day package called the Full Throttle. Chillisauce.co.uk has designed the weekend, taking place from 13th June to 15th June 2014 for the Father's Day weekend, in Bristol, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Budapest and Las Vegas. The package includes a two night stay in a four-star luxury hotel, kicks off with a Friday night comedy club, Saturday involves motorised activities including driving monster trucks, tanks and racing stock cars. The evening includes whiskey tasting, watching the first England World Cup game in a sports bar followed by a session in the casino. Prices start from £150 per person . Tank racing is just one of the exciting activities available at the Full Throttle weekend . | Ashley Pearson is sick of palming dads off with predictable gifts .
Here she gives you the low-down on original Father's Day gifts .
Her suggestions include a personal family photographer and tank racing! |
10,923 | 1f0e5a7a3845e5528ad93c0169a320342ab2def7 | During the 90-minute ride of terror, Tamerlan Tsarnaev kept talking. He barked out orders, detailed his hatred of Americans and asked his carjacking victim to remain calm. Tsarnaev kept asking about the 26-year-old driver's heritage and family. "If you cooperate, I won't kill you," said Tsarnaev, who, along with his younger brother, was a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings and the killing of a police officer. The Massachusetts driver, whom CNN is identifying only as Danny because of privacy and safety concerns, gave his account of the April 18 incident and described the very different behavior of Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar. While the talkative Tamerlan was the ringleader during the carjacking, the quiet Dzhokhar responded to multiple orders, such as getting money from an ATM. The only question Dzhokhar asked was how much Danny paid for his Mercedes SUV. After the Chinese entrepreneur eventually escaped, police caught up with the brothers and engaged in a gun battle that left Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead. From fear to cheers: The final 24 hours that paralyzed Boston . Dzhokhar, wounded, was found later and is in police custody. Hours after authorities released images of the two bombing suspects, the brothers spontaneously decided to go to New York's Times Square to blow up their six remaining explosives, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators. His account was outlined by New York's police commissioner. Before forcing their way into Danny's vehicle three days after the bombings, the brothers fatally shot a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, police said. Tamerlan Tsarnaev said right after he got in the vehicle that he was responsible for the bombings and the officer's death, according to Danny. "This is like something you see in a movie, isn't it?" Tamerlan Tsarnaev said at one point during the carjacking. Danny, who first spoke with The Boston Globe, gave CNN this account of the carjacking in a more than hourlong conversation off-camera. -- Danny had stopped his vehicle to send a text when Tamerlan walked up and tapped on the window. The suspect, allegedly carrying a handgun, opened the door and got into the passenger seat. -- Dzhokhar followed in another vehicle. -- Under questioning by Tamerlan, Danny played up being Chinese and tried to humanize himself by talking about cell phones and family. Danny told CNN he felt being Chinese helped save his life. -- Eventually, Dzhokhar abandoned his vehicle and the three rode in Danny's SUV. Tamerlan started driving, using back streets in the Boston area, trying to avoid police and searching for an open gas station. -- Danny heard the word "Manhattan" at one point and thought the brothers were going to drive to New York, kill him on the way and dump his body under the bridge. -- When they stopped to refuel at a Shell gas station, Danny managed to slip away. He could feel Tamerlan grab him and heard him yell an expletive. Danny ran to a Mobil gas station, where he told an employee there what happened. Danny told CNN the fact that his car was low on gas helped save his life. During the carjacking, Danny thought about a girl in New York whom he really liked. He thought he'd never see her again. | Driver provides his account of Boston-area carjacking .
He details behavior of the Tsarnaev brothers .
Older brother asked Danny about his heritage .
Incident followed Boston Marathon bombings . |
52,851 | 95e8fc6ee620233ea0d875f1ce9abc2685ea3f8f | By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 20:08 EST, 26 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:24 EST, 27 January 2013 . A Christian who won the right to wear a cross at work in a landmark European ruling last week has launched another discrimination claim against British Airways. Nadia Eweida, a passenger services agent at Heathrow, has accused the airline of disability discrimination. The case centres around BA’s alleged failure to adjust Miss Eweida’s duties to make allowances for a back disorder, and its decision to remove her from a rota during the Olympics, depriving her of shifts. British Airways employee Nadia Eweida celebrates winning her case after the European Court of Human Rights ruled she had suffered discrimination at work because of her faith . It is understood Miss Eweida, 61, from Twickenham, South-West London, believes she has suffered victimisation ever since the company suspended her without pay in 2006 for defying a new policy that banned her from wearing a visible cross around her neck. She originally lost her case for religious discrimination at an employment tribunal but took her case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and last week it ruled in her favour. Miss Eweida refused to discuss her new claim, which she lodged before her victory, but said: ‘I am still seeking an explanation for some of the ways management have treated me.’ BA said it was ‘resisting’ the claim. British Airways says it is resisting a second claim from Miss Eweida . | Nadia Eweida, 61, now going after British Airways for disability discrimination . |
135,267 | 3af699773b0fcb49db45e3b5e70ac8cd9bd5744d | Roma defender Leandro Castan has had neurosurgery that successfully removed a malformation on his brain, the club have said. Castan has been out of action since a September victory at Empoli, where he was substituted at halftime because of dizziness. Roma said the malformation, known as a cavernoma, measured just over an inch, and was 'completely removed' during a three and a half hour surgery. Leandro Castan (right) has been a crucial part of Roma's defence since joining from Corinthians in 2012 . The club added that Castan woke up after the procedure and was breathing unaided. However, he will remain in intensive care for 24 hours. The 28-year-old center back joined Roma in 2012 from Corinthians in his native Brazil. In the last two seasons, Castan played in 66 of Roma's 76 Serie A matches. The popular defender left the field against Empoli complaining of dizziness and scans revealed the problem . | Brazilian Leandro Castan remains in intensive care after operation .
Defender left the pitch at half time against Empoli in September .
Castan complained of dizziness and scans showed malformation on brain .
He has been a key defender for Roma since joining in 2012 . |
40,781 | 7306a82848608dcff26d539bb44e69d0bd6e78d1 | By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 13:08 EST, 29 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:26 EST, 29 September 2013 . Benefit fraudster: Dennis Hopwood falsely claimed £43,000 in benefits he wasn't entitled to . A wealthy pensioner pocketed £43,000 in a benefit fraud after failing to declare his family owned and later sold a luxury hotel. Former paratrooper Dennis Hopwood, 75, falsely claimed Pension Credit and council tax benefits over eight years despite receiving £500 per week from the family business. His scam continued even after his wife and son sold the Bridge House Hotel they ran in Acocks Green, Birmingham, for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Hopwood appeared at Coventry Crown Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to receiving £27,710 in Pension Credit that he wasn't entitled to between October 2003 and May 2012. He also admitted evasion of liability by . deception between October 2005 and May 2012 when he falsely . claimed £15,538 council tax benefit. The pensioner received a 10 month jail . sentence, suspended for 18 months, after a judge branded his behaviour . 'thoroughly dishonest'. The ex-soldier was told he had narrowly . avoided being sent to prison because of his early guilty plea, genuine . remorse, and repayment of the £43,248 benefits. Hopwood was also placed on a curfew for six months, from between 9pm and 8am, and ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge. The court heard that his wife, Barbara, and son, Paul, were partners in the Bridge House Hotel. Hopwood and his wife lived on the premises but he did not have a share in the business, although he carried out odd jobs. Hopwood began claiming Pension Credit for himself and his wife after stating on official forms that he had no additional income and savings of £6,000. The former soldier also went on to claim council tax benefit. Yet the Department of Works and Pension eventually became aware he was receiving £500 per week from the business account of Bridge House Hotel. In total, investigators found £40,000 was transferred to his account in 80 weekly payments between August 2003 and February 2005. The scam continued even after the hotel was sold in 2005, when £203,071 was paid into the account of Hopwood's wife and son. Yet . the ex-paratrooper failed to declare the capital and he and his wife . later bought a property in Darlow Drive, Stratford-upon-Avon, and were . left with no mortgage. Spared jail: Hopwood was given a 10 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months at Coventry Crown Court . Investigators eventually caught up with the benefit cheat who, under questioning, admitted his wife was running the hotel business but he initially denied receiving £500 per week. Hopwood later confirmed he had been pocketing the weekly cash. He also claimed he had little understanding of the benefit system - but admitted his actions could be seen as being 'a little shady'. Andrew Evans, defending, said his client was of previous good character and could not be more sorry. Hopwood, who suffered a stroke in 2010, had since repaid 'every single penny', he added. 'Anyone who knows Dennis Hopwood would find it very difficult to understand what he's done,' said Mr Evans. He said he was a former paratrooper and was wearing his tie in court to give him courage. The court heard neither his wife nor his son had any idea about his benefit fraud. The lawyer said his client had failed to declare his wider financial interests, which included that he had effectively an equitable interest in the hotel. Mr Evans added the crime was not 'premeditated' and his client was not a greedy man. But Recorder Spencer Bernard told Hopwood he had committed, a 'thoroughly dishonest and persistent scheme of offending, telling Hopwood: 'You knew exactly what was going on.' | Former paratrooper Dennis Hopwood, 75, was receiving £500 a week from his wife's hotel business before she sold it .
Couple then purchased a home with money from the sale of the hotel .
He falsely claimed Pension Credit and council tax benefits over eight years .
Pensioner was spared jail after receiving a suspended prison sentence . |
131,304 | 35cbd5e633e6c6619039aea8af78cdb842c81685 | Ahead of this weekend's Premier League action, Sportsmail will be providing you with all you need to know about every fixture, with team news, provisional squads, betting odds and Opta stats. Here is all the information you need for West Ham's home clash with Hull... West Ham United vs Hull (Upton Park) Team news . West Ham . West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is hoping for a double defensive fitness boost ahead of Sunday's visit of Hull. Winston Reid (ankle) missed the FA Cup third-round replay win over Everton on Tuesday but is now back in training, as is full-back Guy Demel who has been sidelined since the turn of the year with a muscle problem. That means only top-scorer Diafra Sakho (back) and Cheikhou Kouyate (international duty) are definite absentees. Provisional squad: Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Cresswell, O'Brien, Reid, Demel, Collins, Jenkinson, Noble, Song, Nolan, Amalfitano, Downing, Poyet, Jarvis, Vaz Te, Cole, Carroll, Valencia. Andy Carroll rifled his left footed shot into the top corner past Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski . Hull . Sone Aluko and Gaston Ramirez will return to training ahead of Hull's trip to West Ham to offer manager Steve Bruce some hope of solving his striker crisis. Bruce saw strike pair Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez injured in the 1-0 defeat at West Brom last weekend with both out for several weeks. Andy Robertson (ankle), Liam Rosenior (hamstring), and Mohamed Diame (knee) remain out. Provisional squad: McGregor, Jakupovic, Harper, Chester, Davies, Maguire, McShane, Figueroa, Bruce, Elmohamady, Livermore, Meyler, Ince, Brady, Quinn, Huddlestone, Aluko, Ramirez, Sagbo. West Bromwich Albion's Andre Wisdom (left) battles for the ball with Hull City's Stephen Quinn . Kick-off: Sunday 1.30pm . Odds (subject to change): . West Ham 8/11 . Draw 5/2 . Hull 9/2 . Referee: Martin Atkinson . Managers: Sam Allardyce (West Ham) Steve Bruce (Hull) Key match stats (supplied by Opta) West Ham have won five and lost just one of the last eight league meetings with Hull City. Hull have cleared seven shots off the line in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. The Hammers have won the last five home games in a row against the Tigers. West Ham have lost just one of their last nine Premier League home matches (W6 D2 L1). Sam Allardyce’s side have scored the most headed goals in the Premier League this season (14). Only Aston Villa (56) have fired in fewer shots on target this season than Hull City (61). Stewart Downing has been involved in as many Premier League goals this season (11 – four goals and seven assists) as he managed in his previous three campaigns combined. Sam Allardyce’s side have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight Premier League matches, but they have also only failed to score once during this run. The Hammers have won just one of their last six Premier League games, drawing three and losing two. Hull have conceded eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches, more than any other team. | Winston Reid and Guy Demel could return from injury for West Ham .
Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate are away on international duty .
Hull strike pair Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez are both injured . |
154,104 | 532f2652ebe15c5b91e3b44fa5e1973b16927bc1 | By . Tom Gardner . PUBLISHED: . 10:50 EST, 11 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:01 EST, 11 May 2012 . For 63 years Rex Coxeter had cherished his beloved pet Timmy the tortoise – until thieves stole the endangered reptile from the family home. The grandfather-of-seven, 73 - who has had the Hermann’s tortoise since he was an 11-year-old boy – came home from a short break to discover the treasured creature had been snatched, last month. Retired mushroom grower Mr Coxeter has now launched an appeal for his safe return, warning Timmy could die without him - because no one else knows his ‘funny ways’. Beloved: Rex Coxeter has pleaded for the return of family pet Timmy - stolen from his home in Dunmow, Essex, last month - who he had cherished since he was 10-year-old boy, left, . The stolen pet refuses to eat anything outside his strict diet of fresh grass and dandelions. Mr Coxeter has . offered a considerable cash reward in a bid to be reunited with the . reptile – thought to be Britain’s longest-serving family pet. The . father-of-three said: ‘It is a nightmare to lose him after all these . years. It is very sad. He will never survive with other people as they . will not know his funny ways. ‘He is probably worth thousands of pounds - but it is not about the money. ‘I . want to know what happened to him. I am willing to pay a generous . reward for any information leading to his rescue. ‘The thieves could not have known the tortoise was there - it was opportunistic. ‘My grandchildren are more upset about it than anyone else, because they’ve grown up with him all their lives. Missing: Timmy, pictured, is thought to have been Britain's longest-serving pet until it was stolen last month . ‘To have had him for 63 years is pretty unique. ‘As . I look back, I just think my goodness - when I first had him there were . no motorways, all the railways were steam and the Queen wasn’t even on . the throne. ‘It makes you realise just how old he is.’ It . is believed the endangered animal - which could be worth thousands of . pounds - was snatched by opportunistic metal thieves as they scoured the . area for property to steal. Neighbours . spotted a scrap metal truck, with white goods loaded in the back, . pulling up at the family’s home in Dunmow, Essex, on April 23, just . hours after the couple left for their weekend away. Retired mushroom grower Rex also warned the thieves would struggle to sell the distinctive 10lbs (4.5kg) reptile because animal dealers will spot how rare it is. Heartbroken: Rex Coxeter is offering a considerable cast reward for the return of the rare and valuable tortoise, which has been in the same family for 63 years . The father-of-three said: ‘I knew he was gone as soon as I got back. He’s kept in a large area, and it’s like having a cow in a field – you instantly notice if they’ve gone missing. Rex realised his precious tortoise was missing when he returned from holiday on May 2. Neighbours spotted an open-sided scrap metal truck pulling up on his land between noon and 2pm and an intruder prowling around his back garden. The police have been informed and Rex has also alerted the National Theft Register - an agency that helps find stolen exotic animals. It is hoped the underside of Timmy’s shell, which is the equivalent of a human fingerprint and unique to each individual tortoise, will help police identify the pet. John Hayward, from the national theft register, said there has been a recent spate of tortoise snatchings across the south east but believed Timmy’s theft was opportunistic. He said: ‘The tortoise is extremely old and rare. It is on the most endangered list. ‘It is so sad. Those who have stolen it will not be providing for its welfare properly. ‘He is obviously sadly missed and the owners have offered a reward for its safe return and the police are anxious for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves. ‘Anybody who buys or sells these animals must have a licence or face criminal charges.’ Timmy, who came out of his six-month hibernation on March 24, needs a diet of dandelions, fresh grass and water to survive. Hermann’s tortoises are found in the Mediterranean, from southern France to Turkey and in the Balkans and central Mediterranean islands. They have a slightly hooked upper jaw and, like other tortoises, possess no teeth, just a strong, horny beak. Until 1984, when the UK introduced an import ban, tortoises were regularly shipped from Mediterranean countries under cruel and cramped conditions. | Rex Coxeter, 73, was a ten-year-old boy when he was given Timmy the tortoise .
The endangered reptile is thought to be Britain's longest-serving family pet having belonged to Mr Coxeter for 63 years .
The retired mushroom farmer fears the pet could die because no one else is familiar with his 'funny ways'
It is thought opportunistic metal thieves snatched Timmy as they scoured Dunmow, in Essex, property to steal . |
6,009 | 110b9cea121d7022af2a9c844f4c38b9db6aa266 | A genuine European candidate in Dutch football chief Michael van Praag on Monday declared he will stand against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency. Van Praag had been reluctant to put his name forward having witnessed a number of eastern European countries supporting Blatter and voting against UEFA proposals at last June’s FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo. The Dutchman can’t count on the support of his confederation, but has nevertheless put his hat in the ring along with Prince Ali of Jordan and the fanciful no-hopers Jerome Champagne, bookmaker-funded David Ginola and football agent Mino Raiola - none of whom will get the required nominations from five countries. Sepp Blatter faces another contender for the FIFA presidency in Dutch FA president Michael van Praag . Van Praag has announced hi candidature on the Dutch football association's website on Monday . Van Praag has decided to stand after, in his opinion, no credible contender emerged . Van Praag said: ‘It is high time that the organisation comes back into the real world and puts the focus back on football. ‘I had hoped that a credible opponent (to Blatter) would emerge, but that’s simply not happened. In that case you cannot just talk but you must also act decisively and take responsibility so therefore I am announcing my candidacy.’ UEFA did not back him on Monday. Chief executive Gianni Infantino said: ‘There is no candidate of UEFA because UEFA has no vote. We provide the platform for everybody to express their opinion. There has to be an open debate on the future of football.’ Dutch FA (KNVB) secretary general Bert van Oostveen added: 'It is clear that something has to change in FIFA to restore credibility. Michael is the right man for this. The KNVB will fully support him in his campaign.' Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (left) of Jordan will also stand against FIFA president Blatter (right) Van Praag will formally announce his candidacy at a news conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said the European governing body would not be formally backing either Van Praag or Prince Ali. He told a news conference: 'We have heard about Prince Ali and we have heard about Michael van Praag and it is good there is a proper discussion. 'We are an open democracy, we have different views and the important thing is everyone can express his views.' Van Praag said he had obtained the minimum five nominations from national associations but the Football Association has yet to decide who it will support - that is likely to take place at a board meeting on Thursday. Van Praag (left) gave a lifetime achievement award to Louis van Gaal, the current Manchester United boss . Van Praag believes something will have to change at FIFA so that its credibility is restored . David Ginola is expected to withdraw his candidacy to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA presidency on Thursday . Ginola is expected to be forced to withdraw as a FIFA candidate on Thursday after failing to gain the required nominations. The former Tottenham and France winger is being backed by a bookmaker but his campaign to raise £100,000 in public money has so far raised only £5,900. Meanwhile, UEFA confirmed England's David Gill and Welsh FA president Trefor Lloyd Hughes will contest an election voted for by European nations to be named Britain's next FIFA vice-president to succeed Northern Ireland's Jim Boyce. Current president Michel Platini will be re-elected unopposed at the UEFA Congress in March. UEFA has also announced that England will host the European under-17 championships in 2017. | Michael van Praag will challenge Sepp Blatter's FIFA presidency .
Van Praag announced the news Monday on Dutch FA's website .
Van Praag believes 'no credible' candidate has emerged to oppose Blatter . |
118,471 | 24f8c982c58d2303f79fbc9a6f9dddc099ce409d | (CNN) -- "What does this thing do?" That's what I asked the garbage man one afternoon many years ago when we had Truck Day outside Cherokee Elementary. At least I think it was Truck Day. There were lots of trucks. And our teachers encouraged us to look at them and ask questions. So, I'm pretty sure it wasn't sex-ed. (God, I hope not.) Anyway, the garbage man smiled and answered my question. "Well, this makes the mechanical arm go down. Here, try it." Me at the helm of a steel hydraulic grabbing device in the vicinity of small children. What could possibly go wrong? I pulled the lever. Things moved. Noises were made. Nothing went wrong. And to this day, it's pretty much the highlight of my life. I should've been a garbage man. Instead I became a journalist. (I repeat: I should've been a garbage man.) Because big trucks are awesome. Especially when you're a kid. Richard Janney knows all about this. The 42-year-old legal recruiter from the suburbs of Chicago has two boys, 9 and 3. And the youngest is completely obsessed with trucks. Janney explains that his little one is over the moon when it comes to big equipment. "Like, stop and pull over and watch an active construction site for 10 or 20 minutes kind of excitement." So, he does. That's just being a good dad. But one day, back in early July while taking a roadside pause with his son, Janney looked out upon the broken land and saw an excavator in a whole new light. In this great, massive machine he suddenly saw beauty. Like Orson Welles slathered in baby oil. (Bad comparison. I don't know what just happened there.) As Janney looked out over the construction site with this heightened appreciation for machinery, it was then that he decided he would go home and paint the excavator for his son. He could already picture it. "I've always been obsessed with van Gogh," Janney says. "I had been trying to do paintings that emulated his style for about a year." So, in paying homage to "Starry Night," he painted "Quarry Night." And it was magnificent. Janney posted an image of his painting online and, immediately, people were enthusiastic. Hundreds asked him if they could buy prints. Not bad for a former lawyer with largely untapped artistic ability. You see, for years, Janney was a litigator for a big firm. And he hated it. "I was willing to crawl through a sewer pipe like Tim Robbins did in Shawshank Redemption just to get out," he said. I can't even imagine. Or maybe I just don't want to. But he made it out. "I have a lot more time for my family, which is why I'm able to pull over and watch construction equipment when my boys see one in action. We also watch trains a lot." (Note: These are real things you can see when you stop clicking through cat videos on your iPad. However, be warned that doing so requires leaving the house and wearing pants. Just FYI.) Of course, getting out of a busy law career also allowed Janney more time to further explore this passion for art, despite the fact that he has no formal training. When he was younger he drew a lot, eventually delving into the world of cartoons. In college, Janney even penned a strip called "Pierre the French Guy." That one almost got syndicated. Painting came much later, about 10 years ago. Which ultimately led to "Quarry Night." Soon after that, Janney brushed another truck-inspired masterpiece: "Vincent Van Dozer." Once again he had an online hit. And it was another fine example of hidden artistic talent being discovered on the Internet. In all, it's a small body of work -- there are only two truck paintings so far -- but Janny's already getting commissions from construction companies, engineers, and manufacturers. He says, "One guy told me that he was so happy to see that someone else saw those machines as works of art." Like Orson Welles slathered in baby oil. (Nope. Still a bad comparison.) Follow @JarrettBellini on Twitter. See more content with questionable news value at CNN Comedy. | 42-year-old Richard Janney is a legal recruiter outside Chicago .
He started painting big trucks in the style of Vincent van Gogh .
His artwork became a surprise hit on the Internet . |
13,889 | 275fe4bd1f7e0c68ed543c519a5a6631b17471ac | A retired scientist was killed on a cruise ship when he was struck on the head by a window frame that was broken by a freak wave in the English Channel, an inquest has heard. James Swinstead, 85, died 'almost instantly' on board the British vessel Marco Polo as it was battered by waves during severe storms on Valentine's Day last year. His wife of 58 years, Helen, was dining with her husband when water crashed through a window, injuring him and a number of the 735 passengers on board the 22,000-tonne vessel. Tragedy: James Swinstead, 85, and his wife of 58 years, Helen, were dining on board the British vessel Marco Polo, when a freak wave hit the cruise ship, breaking a window which hit Mr Swinstead . The ship, operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages, was heading for its home port of Tilbury in Essex at the end of a 42-night voyage when the storm hit. The Marco Polo was carrying 735 passengers, most of them British, at the time of the incident. Mr Akhurst told the hearing that 16 passengers and crew members were injured. A female passenger in her 70s was airlifted off the ship. Many of the injured suffered cuts from flying glass. Essex Coroner's Court heard that the grandfather-of-three and his wife Helen were sitting at a restaurant table next to a window when the wave hit. Questions unanswered: Helen Swinstead said the inquest did not provide full closure . Two windows were smashed and two others were dislodged but did not shatter. Forensic pathologist Dr David Rouse told the inquest that Mr Swinstead suffered a fractured skull and extensive brain damage. His report found that the death was 'consistent with an impact by or against a heavy object such as a window frame'. He said Mr Swinstead, of Colchester, suffered injuries usually seen in victims of car accidents, and that he was 'effectively dead' after the blow to the head. John Akhurst, deputy director for the Bahamas Maritime Authority, which carried out an investigation following the incident, said: 'There was a great deal of violence and force involved in what happened as the windows were smashed and dislodged.' He went on: 'We could not say with any confidence that there was anything to be alarmed with about the condition of those windows.' He said the ship was hit by a 'significantly large wave' amid 'phenomenal' sea conditions caused by a storm which had come across from the west sooner than expected. Mr Akhurst said the ship's assessment of weather forecasts was 'competent'. But, following his recommendation, the vessel now uses a more accurate bespoke weather forecasting service. He also found that the Marco Polo's safety management structure should be reviewed. But speaking after the hearing, Mrs Swinstead said she had noticed the window was rusting. When asked if the inquest had given her the answers she was looking for, she replied: 'No, not really, because why were we shown to the table by the window? 'There were rusty puddles on the windowsill. That's with hindsight. We sat there because it was a lovely view of a rough sea.' Mrs Swinstead claims the windows on Marco Polo were rusting and that there were rusty puddles on the windowsill by the table where her husband was hit . Her solicitor, Martyn Carr, said: 'I don't think there is any doubt when you look at the photographs those windows look, quite frankly, a bit dodgy. 'Perhaps the strength of the waves was extremely unusual, but you don't expect to be sitting in a restaurant and have the window come in on you. 'There are questions still to be answered about the strength of the windows.' Caroline Beasley-Murray, Senior Coroner for Essex, said: 'In light of all the evidence that has been heard before this court I shall record a conclusion on the record of inquest - that is answering how he died - that James Malcolm Swinstead died as a result of an accident, a tragic accident. 'He clearly was a much-loved gentleman.' Addressing Mrs Swinstead directly, she added: 'You have had the ordeal of sitting through this inquest this afternoon and you have done that with the utmost dignity.' | James Swinstead, 85, died after water crashed through cruise ship window .
Grandfather-of-three was dining with his wife of 58 years, Helen, at the time .
The vessel was headed for its home port of Tilbury, Essex when storm hit . |
275,606 | f10c325479cf7c4017bb47cb49430dfc9d2e15b2 | A federal judge handed an Iranian-owned Fifth Avenue office building in New York to the government Monday. Worth as much as $700million, 650 Fifth Avenue was seized by the government because the owners funnelled rent money to Iran, a judge ruled. The 36-story building sits on the corner of 52nd Street, in the middle of one of the city’s toniest neighborhoods. Seized: 650 Fifth Avenue, a $700million office tower owned by an Iran-government affiliate, has been seized by the US government . This is believed to be ‘the largest real property forfeiture’ in the history of the US government, prosecutors told the New York Daily News. Proceeds from its sale will be given to the families of Iran-aided terror attack victims. Handed down by Manhattan Federal Judge Katherine Forrest, the decision is subject to appeal, the Daily News noted, but the ruling came only days before a separate private lawsuit was to commence in an attempt to seize the building on behalf of those victims. ‘The court has found that, based on the incontrovertible record evidence,’ rent money was funneled to a state-run Iranian bank, making it ‘a front for the government of Iran.’ ‘The assets at issue . . . are subject to forfeiture,’ Judge Forrest concluded. A real estate appraiser told the Daily News the building was snared at just the right time. ‘This is the best time to sell, it’s . such a hot market,’ the appraiser said, ‘[but] you know the government, . they’ll drag their feet and probably miss their chance to make a . boatload.’ Worth up to $2,000 a foot at 380,000, . the building could potentially fetch just over $700million, according to . the appraiser – making it comparable in value to the nearby General . Motors building, the Daily News noted. One of many: Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani is one of several clerics running Iran's government . Both Juicy Couture and Godiva rent ground-floor retail space. The federal government and a private group representing the families of victims of the 1993 Beirut Marine base bombing and the 9/11 terror attacks were moving to seize the building, both in an attempt to provide compensation to the victims and their families. Owned by the Alavi Foundation, the successor to the Pahlavi Foundation – which built the building and has ties to the Iranian government, 650 Fifth Avenue was constructed in 1978, according to Emporis. It sits on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue at 52nd Street just blocks from Central Park. The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan is tops in the nation at seizing assets, according to the Daily News. With a total of $2.98billion in asset taken last year, it accounted for 68 per cent of government seizure activity nationwide, the paper noted. A call placed MailOnline to the building's listed owner, the Alavi foundation, was not answered. | Feds accused the buildings owners, a foundation with ties to the Iranian government, of funneling rent proceeds back to Iran .
The building is at 52nd Street and 5th Avenue, one of the most sought-after addresses in the city .
Selling it might fetch upwards of $700million for the families of victims of Iran-aided terror attacks . |
244,701 | c8b2fed4bb3af527ddf9172266082050fd568672 | This disturbing image appears to show two headless bodies dumped on the streets of Mexico City. In the photograph, two bodies - both wrapped in plastic and bound with tape - can be seen lying on the side of a road in Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico City. Both of the unidentified corpses appear to be headless in the image. According to local media, the crime scene was first cordoned off on Sunday morning - shortly after the bodies were discovered. Two bodies were dumped wrapped in plastic and bound in tape were discovered on the streets of Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico city on Sunday. Neither have been identified . They were found in the Nezahualcoyotl neighborhood - an area on the outskirts of Mexico City that is known for its high crime rate and gang culture. The two appear to be further victims of drugs cartels - which are common in the area. Mexico City and its surrounding states have long be gripped by violence on the streets - with much of it linked to members of drugs cartels who battle over their 'patches'. Many towns in the area now have groups of vigilantes who attempt to enforce the law on such groups. Only last week, Mexican authorities confirmed four human heads were found in a town in Michoacan - a state west of Mexico City. The western state is home to hundreds of vigilantes - many of which sprang up a year ago to drive out members of drugs cartel the Knights Templar. A federal official said police investigators also found a threatening note along with the human remains - but wouldn't reveal its content. Last week four human heads were found in Zacan, Michoacan. The state is home to hundreds of vigilantes - many of whom are attempting to drive out members of drugs cartels . He confirmed the bodies belonged to four men aged between 22 and 55. Vigilantes began rising up against the Knights Templar in February 2013. Last month, the Mexican government effectively legalized the movement after an agreement was reached with group leaders to incorporate the armed civilian groups into quasi-military groups. Last September, six severed human heads were found over two days in the town of Los Reyes - also in Michoacan. The heads all belonged to males and had bullet wounds, reports at the time suggested. Local people in the area have set up a self-defence force to protect against the influence of the drug gangs. However, some residents of the area have reacted in protest at the presence of the groups. Last Thursday, at least three trailer trucks were set alight when 600 arrived in Paracuaro, Michoacan. At the time, residents said they oppose the vigilantes because they are forcing young men to join them. At the end of last year, officers began excavating 28 graves in the town of La Barca, Jalisco - after 62 bodies were discovered in a mass grave. | WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Two bodies dumped on streets of Nezahualcoyotl, a suburb of Mexico City .
Bodies, wrapped in plastic and bound with tape, discovered on Sunday .
Follows a series of similar discoveries across the city and nearby states .
Many cities gripped by violent drugs cartels and vigilante groups . |
263,771 | e19b455074affb760c4847e7c05636bc66820a95 | The 'Game of Thrones effect': More and more children in Britain are being given Olde English names by their parents - with mothers and fathers inspired by the hit television series . They may sound more like characters in a historical drama than our next generation of children. But Millicent, Elvina and Alfred, along with other Olde English names, are making a comeback – with many parents inspired by fantasy television series Game of Thrones. Medieval girls’ names including Kendra and Winnie, as well as boys’ names such as Peyton and Audley are now popular choices for babies, according to a survey. Two in five parents questioned chose a name for their child which was last popular more than 350 years ago, with some names previously fashionable as long ago as the Middle Ages. It replaces the previous trend for giving children more modern ‘fantasy’ names like Princess, Crystal or Prince, with 36 per cent describing these choices as ‘outdated’. The survey of 3,961 parents, by the website Netmums, found the second most prominent British naming fad is customised spellings. One in five had altered a name with their own spelling – for example replacing Chantel with Shantelle – in a bid to make their child stand out. And one in eight said they had opted for a ‘posh-sounding’ name, such as Hugo, Arabella or Harriet. Traditional surnames, for example Mackenzie or Harrison, also continued to be popular as first names with one in nine parents choosing them. According to the survey, most parents settle on a name between the 20th week of pregnancy and the baby’s birth. But some start thinking about their choice considerably earlier, with one in eight mothers saying they had decided on a name before they were even pregnant. Emily Clarke, left, as Daenerys Targaryen in the hit television show Game of Thrones. A survey has revealed the series could be inspiring parents to give their children Olde English names . Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: ‘Baby names usually work on an 80-year cycle of popularity - but some of the Olde English baby names coming back haven’t been in fashion for almost 800 years. ‘However, they tick all the boxes for modern parents, being unusual but traditional, and cool but not too wacky. It’s a trend which may well grow.’ One in ten wait for around a week after the baby is born before finalising their decision, to ensure that the name suits. But just under one per cent wait until the final day they can register their child’s to commit to a name – a full six weeks after the birth. For boys: For girls: . 1) Ned 1) Millicent . 2) Alfred 2) Audrey . 3) Cole 3) Kim or Kym . 4) Audley 4) Kendra . 5) Peyton 5) Elvina . 6) Wyatt 6) Winnie . Despite the struggle to find a decent name, almost all parents said that their child’s name had been commented on, with 13 per cent saying family, friends or even strangers had been negative about their choice. A further 19 per cent of parents admitted they chose to keep their favoured name secret – as a friend or relative had previously stolen a name they hoped to use. But one of the most decisive factors in determining a name was whether or not it went well with the child’s surname, with 32 per cent of parents deciding on this basis. One in five opted for a ‘name to help my child do well in life’, while 17 per cent chose an ‘unusual name to make my child stand out’. A further 14 per cent picked a name which they felt suited their baby’s appearance. Three in four parents (76per cent) also said that they believed children’s names influence how teachers respond to them. George, Edward, Emily, William, Hannah and Elizabeth were perceived as the names teachers felt most positive about. Prince George, pictured with his proud parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. A survey has revealed parents believe the name 'George' carries extra influence with teachers at school . But Jayden, Crystal, Bailey, Chase, Tyler and Phoenix were seen as the names most likely to make teachers assume the child could misbehave. Among the more unusual names which can currently be heard on British playgrounds include Lanesra (Arsenal spelt backwards), Galaxy Star, Egypt, Kaseza, Cash, Mysti-Rae, Woodrow, Tarrant and Odin Fox. Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: ‘Baby names usually work on an 80-year cycle of popularity - but some of the Olde English baby names coming back haven’t been in fashion for almost 800 years. ‘However, they tick all the boxes for modern parents, being unusual but traditional, and cool but not too wacky. It’s a trend which may well grow.’ | Survey shows parents are choosing Olde English names for children .
Fantasy television series Game of Thrones a factor in new name choices .
Millicent, Elvina and Alfred among names becoming popular .
One in ten wait a week after baby born before making name decision . |
195,408 | 88f4fe50eabdbb2f25e7b50d8ddc3e4b1bd3ce1a | (CNN) -- A 2-year-old who went missing from his home in Dewey, Arizona, on Monday night was found dead Wednesday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. The body of Emmett Trapp was found by search and rescue personnel at 11:30 a.m. about one mile from his home, lying in a muddy pit once used to collect waste products from a former mining site. "We are just devastated by the loss of this little boy," sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said. The area where his body was found on the former Iron King Mine site is being treated as a crime scene, which the sheriff's office described as "common protocol." The cause of death appears to be a result of spending more than 24 hours exposed to Arizona's elements, Sgt. Jeff Newnum said. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed later Wednesday, he said. He added that there was "no foul play at Emmett's body that would suggest something was awry." Emmett was the second 2-year-old boy to go missing from Yavapai County in 10 days. His case is believed to be unrelated to the disappearance of Sylar Newton -- another 2-year-old who went missing July 25 from a camping site in Rimrock and is presumed dead, D'Evelyn said Tuesday. Emmett was reported missing by his mother at 8 p.m. Monday, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The mother told authorities that she and her four children were at their home in the Dewey-Humboldt area, about 80 miles north of Phoenix. When the mother awoke from a nap Monday evening, Emmett -- last seen wearing a pajama top, diaper and no shoes -- was missing. The family dog had also apparently wandered off with Emmett, but returned when called. The mother told police she searched around the home and immediate area without success. Newnum said the door to the house was unlocked at the time of Emmett's disappearance, and it appears the boy walked as many four miles, crossing hilly, rough terrain, before he was found. Newnum credited the muddy terrain in the area with helping find Emmett. He said the small footprints around the site indicate the boy "was by himself." | NEW: The boy was found in a muddy pit on an old mining site .
NEW: No foul play is suspected in his death .
Emmett Trapp's body was found about a mile from his home .
He was reported missing Monday night . |
155,674 | 553a50dd72355e9b3d40d923c94c61b4c8bce6fc | (CNN) -- Iraq has executed a high-ranking aide to the late ruler Saddam Hussein, a government spokesman said Thursday. The Justice Ministry carried out the execution of Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, who was Hussein's personal secretary, national security adviser and senior bodyguard, spokesman Ali a-Dabbagh said. Al-Tikriti was the "ace of diamonds" in the U.S. military's card deck of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. He was No. 4 on the list, behind Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay. He and members of Hussein's special security forces were captured in a 2003 raid by U.S. Special Operations Forces near the north-central Iraq town of Tikrit. The Iraqi High Tribunal had sentenced al-Tikriti to death for genocide and crimes against humanity. The 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Hussein was hanged in December 2006 after being found guilty of crimes against humanity in the killings of Shiite villagers in 1982. | Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti was Saddam Hussein's national security adviser .
Al-Tikriti was the regime's most wanted official next to Hussein and his sons .
He had been sentenced to death for genocide and crimes against humanity . |
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